Ultra-processed food companies hindering health drives by suing countries, says WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has accused major ultra-processed food corporations of obstructing global efforts to combat the obesity crisis. The head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, highlighted how these companies are suing governments that try to introduce healthier diet policies, causing financial burdens for countries through healthcare and legal expenses.

Globally, nearly 1 billion people suffer from obesity, and unhealthy diets are a primary contributor to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. The consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF) is on the rise, accounting for half of the average diet in several countries, including the UK, US, and Australia. Governments have begun implementing measures to curb junk-food intake and promote healthier diets, such as front-of-pack warning labels, marketing restrictions, and taxes on unhealthy products.

While the world's largest UPF companies claim to support these policies, an investigation by the Guardian revealed that many are actually taking governments to court to challenge, weaken, or delay these measures. Over 235 lawsuits targeting UPFs in countries like Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, the US, and the UK from 2010 to 2025 were recorded.

Of the resolved lawsuits, three-quarters were lost by the food corporations. However, even unsuccessful cases delayed the adoption of vital public health measures for years, tying up government and public health officials in expensive litigation. The lawsuits, while ultimately won by governments, suggest additional objectives for the UPF companies, such as slowing down the rollout of new laws and preventing other countries from adopting similar policies.

The litigation has resulted in nearly 600 cumulative years of legal battles, an average of 2.5 years per case, with most cases ending unsuccessfully. Tedros acknowledged that some large food companies have made progress in making their products healthier, but urged them to drop the lawsuits if they genuinely want to contribute to addressing the global obesity crisis.

He emphasized that while these measures have proven effective in promoting healthier diets, they remain concentrated in upper-middle- and high-income countries, highlighting a growing inequity in governments' capacity to respond to the health crisis.