July 16, 2019

Obesity and undernourishment on the rise in Latin America

topic:	Humans
located:	Mexico
editor:	Magdalena Rojo

I remember searching for a shop where they would sell water in one of the villages in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. In every single little store, they offered me a soda and said they had no water to purchase. It always strikes me in restaurants in Mexico when the waitresses do not ask: "What can I offer you to drink?" Instead they often ask: "Do you want a soda?".

The New York Times also pointed at the fact that in some places, such as San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, people do not have access to potable water and drinking Coca Cola is almost as cheap as drinking bottled water. The company’s brand is present on billboards and even –  it is dangerously unhealthy how powerful the soda brand and its rival products are.

Mexico is among the countries with the highest consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. In 2014, the Mexican government introduced a 1-peso-per-liter tax on such beverages in a bid to reduce their consumption. Indeed the purchases decrease by 7.6 percent on average within the next two years. However, Mexico continues to have about two-thirds of its population suffer from problems related to overweight or obesity.

The situation is similar across Latin America and the Caribbean. The Panorama of Food and Nutrition Security report from last November suggests that obesity has become the greatest threat to Latin America and the Caribbean when it comes to nutritional health conditions with about 60 percent of the population being overweight or obese.

A recent FAO report titled The state of food security and nutrition in the world, however, also suggests that the rates of undernourishment have increased in the region in recent years.

Experts say the situation is a consequence of inequalities in the region and that lower-income families do not have equal access to healthy diets. Both challenges are particularly affecting lower-income sectors of the population, women, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and children.

Corporations and their power play an important role, too. As producing nutrient-rich food becomes more expensive and not so rentable, many may opt for less costly options, which are often higher in fat, sugar and salt. In combination with this, development is another aspect that contributes to changes in eating habits. Villages where there were no roads before, now have infrastructure good enough to bring Coke that has become an integral part of celebrations, but also daily life.

Solving the situation requires a cross-sectorial approach and to tackle the causes, not only the symptoms.