The report, “Nourishing Tomorrow: Addressing Obesity Through Food Systems in South Asia,” was published in March 2025 in the World Bank Group’s Open Knowledge Repository. The document describes an analysis of how different food systems contribute to rising rates of obesity in South Asian countries. Three of its four authors are employees of the World Bank.

Retraction Watch reviewed 148 references to academic articles and found 14 were to papers that do not exist. Retraction Watch also reviewed 32 of the 218 references to reports, policy documents, and news articles cited, and at least 14 could not be found or verified.

When we reached out to the World Bank Group with evidence of the citations, they responded with the statement: “The World Bank Group expects its researchers to uphold high professional standards, including the accurate use of sources. The paper is being removed for review and will be republished with a note clearly describing any corrections.” The spokesperson did not respond to our question about the review process for reports. The report was downloaded 133 times before it was taken down, according to an archived version of the website. The current version of the website says the report has been withdrawn.

Source https://retractionwatch.com/2025/12/19/world-bank-report-removed-nonexistent-references/

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