Transforming Food Systems for the Prevention of Childhood Overweight and Obesity in the Gulf Region
5 affiliations
- 1Public Health Programs and Policies, Gulf Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Riyadh 12512, Saudi Arabia
- 2Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 12371, Saudi Arabia
- 3Center of Excellence, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Amman 11821, Jordan
- 4Gulf Area Office, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Riyadh 94623, Saudi Arabia
- 5Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, World Health Organization (WHO), Khartoum 2234, Sudan
Abstract
Background/Objectives: The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is increasing rapidly across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), threatening public health and economic sustainability. Drivers include increased availability and consumption of ultra-processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, physical inactivity, and pervasive marketing of unhealthy foods. This study used a secondary, framework-guided narrative synthesis of two regional reports to map child-relevant policy coverage, examine reported implementation barriers, and identify priorities for action across the six GCC countries. Methods: We used two comprehensive regional reports by the Gulf Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Gulf CDC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and World Health Organization. The analysis synthesizes 103 policy-related documents and 32 key-informant interviews across six Gulf countries. Results: Our findings reveal a policy environment with significant gaps despite growing political commitment and a wide range of national strategies: three countries have adopted front-of-pack nutrition labeling, on a voluntary basis; marketing restrictions remain partially implemented, particularly on digital platforms. Stakeholders highlighted fragmented governance and limited accountability. This directly affects service delivery. While all countries have school-based interventions and infant and young child feeding strategies, their impact is weakened by inconsistent funding and implementation. Conclusions: Using UNICEF’s Transforming Children’s Food Systems approach, we propose a GCC-wide roadmap in three action areas: (1) improving children’s foods; (2) improving children’s food environments; and (3) improving children’s food practices. This roadmap offers a strategic path for the GCC to accelerate action towards protecting the health and well-being of all children in the Gulf and offering valuable lessons for global policy and practice.
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BibTeX
@article{alnaji2026transforming,
title = {{Transforming Food Systems for the Prevention of Childhood Overweight and Obesity in the Gulf Region}},
author = {Nada Alnaji and Ghadeer S. Aljuraiban and Kate Heneghan and Najla Alorayyidh and Aashima Garg and Jumana Haj-Ahmad and Sarah Zahr and Qureshi Abdul Baseer and Rasha Alfawaz},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18203435},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3435},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Transforming Food Systems for the Prevention of Childhood Overweight and Obesity in the Gulf Region
AU - Nada Alnaji
AU - Ghadeer S. Aljuraiban
AU - Kate Heneghan
AU - Najla Alorayyidh
AU - Aashima Garg
AU - Jumana Haj-Ahmad
AU - Sarah Zahr
AU - Qureshi Abdul Baseer
AU - Rasha Alfawaz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18203435
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3435
AB - Background/Objectives: The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is increasing rapidly across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), threatening public health and economic sustainability. Drivers include increased availability and consumption of ultra-processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, physical inactivity, and pervasive marketing of unhealthy foods. This study used a secondary, framework-guided narrative synthesis of two regional reports to map child-relevant policy coverage, examine reported implementation barriers, and identify priorities for action across the six GCC countries. Methods: We used two comprehensive regional reports by the Gulf Center for Disease Prevention and Control (Gulf CDC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and World Health Organization. The analysis synthesizes 103 policy-related documents and 32 key-informant interviews across six Gulf countries. Results: Our findings reveal a policy environment with significant gaps despite growing political commitment and a wide range of national strategies: three countries have adopted front-of-pack nutrition labeling, on a voluntary basis; marketing restrictions remain partially implemented, particularly on digital platforms. Stakeholders highlighted fragmented governance and limited accountability. This directly affects service delivery. While all countries have school-based interventions and infant and young child feeding strategies, their impact is weakened by inconsistent funding and implementation. Conclusions: Using UNICEF’s Transforming Children’s Food Systems approach, we propose a GCC-wide roadmap in three action areas: (1) improving children’s foods; (2) improving children’s food environments; and (3) improving children’s food practices. This roadmap offers a strategic path for the GCC to accelerate action towards protecting the health and well-being of all children in the Gulf and offering valuable lessons for global policy and practice.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -