Since 1992, the number of undernourished people in the world has remained about the same; however obesity has quickly become a major public health concern around the globe. This article organizes the multitude of factors that have contributed to dietary and nutritional changes in recent history into two categories. The first set captures the important developments over the last 20 years in technology, globalization, population, urbanization, and other sociodemographic dynamics. The second set identifies the range of government policies that impinge on diets.
Bruce Traill, B., Mazzocchi, M., Shankar, B., Hallam, D. Nutrition Reviews (2014). Vol. 72. No. 9. 591-604.