The growing popularity of fast food in parts of Africa is changing eating habits and affecting health. Ghana, for example, with a population of over 28 million people and pockets of extreme poverty, has enjoyed
unprecedented national prosperity in the last decade. Despite the economy slowing down recently, it is
rebounding and the signs of new fortune are evident: millions of people are moving from rural areas to the cities for jobs, with shopping malls and fast food outlets increasing as people seek a contemporary lifestyle.
Research shows that people who eat more fast food are more likely to gain weight and become obese. Nutrition experts and health professionals are concerned at the prospect of an increasingly heavy and diabetic
population, without the medical resources to address a looming health crisis that some say could rival AIDS.