Over 2 billion people worldwide are overweight or obese and ‘the culprit is junk food', an international health expert has insisted.

According to Anand Grover, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the right to health, all countries need to urgently adopt measures that promote the availability of healthy foods. At the same time, they must also regulate the marketing of junk foods, such as crisps, pizza and sugary drinks.

He described junk food as products that are ‘ultra-processed and ready to eat', but which are full of ‘empty calories' with little or no nutritional value.

Mr Grover said that such products are to blame for the world's weight problems. Currently, some 2.1 billion people are overweight or obese and over 2.8 million die annually as a result of their weight.

"The culprit is junk food. Containing high levels of sugar, salt, trans fats and saturated fats, this junk has unfortunately replaced healthy foods in our diets. Junk food is not a simple public health issue or a medical concern, it poses a serious challenge to our lives, our health and our rights," he said.

He noted that there are a number of reasons for the increasing move towards junk food, including changes in our lifestyle, aggressive advertising of these products and market consolidation by certain transnational companies and supermarket chains.

In order to deal with this issue, he believes that countries need to introduce a number of policies which, for example, promote the accessibility and availability of nutritious foods and regulate the marketing and advertising of junk food. This involves ensuring that accurate information on healthy diets is available to people.

Where legislation is in place to promote healthier foods and drink, Mr Grover appealed to food and drink companies to comply with such laws and stop any activities that may undermine them.

Mr Grover made his call in a recent report that he presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.