In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults (39 per cent of the global population) were overweight, of which over 650 million were obese. According to data from the World Health Organization, in the space of just 45 years, worldwide obesity has nearly tripled
Out of all the countries of the world, Mexico ranks first in the world in childhood obesity and second in adult obesity. According to the country’s 2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey, 75 per cent of Mexicans aged 20 and over are overweight or obese. Even more alarming, 35.6 per cent of the country’s children aged 5 to 11 are overweight or obese.
A parallel increase in chronic non-communicable diseases associated with obesity, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, has also been detected. And with the coronavirus pandemic yet to be brought under control, both overweight and obesity pose greater risks for those who become infected with Covid-19.
The obesity epidemic is a health problem that concerns everyone, not just people who are overweight.
According to Mexico’s Secretariat of Health, in addition to “poor school performance and emotional problems such as diminished self-esteem,” these diseases not only cause problems for people who suffer from them, but also for the country’s economy: “The OECD estimates that Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will decline by 5.3 per cent between 2020 and 2050 due to the epidemic of overweight and obesity, which also negatively impacts vulnerable groups.”
According to the Health Secretariat’s calculations, the total cost of obesity in 2017 alone amounted to 240 billion pesos (US$12 billion), an amount predicted to rise to 272 billion pesos (US$13.6 billion) by 2023.
Until recently, studies addressing the causes of obesity have focused on the poor choices made by individuals, but have rarely looked at the obesogenic environment, which the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) describes as “an environment that influences personal preferences to consume food products high in calories, simple sugars, fat and salt, and low in nutritional quality.”
The Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria (Food Health Alliance), a group of organizations made up of academic experts and food rights activists, identifies as main factors “the accelerated deterioration of the population’s eating habits,” specifically a “decrease in the consumption of fruits and vegetables, cereals and legumes that belong to the traditional Mexican diet, which is rich and balanced, based on the cultural and biological diversity of the national territory, and centered on the milpa system of cultivation.”
Read the full article, written by Consuelo Pagaza and translated by Brandon Johnson, at EqualTimes.org.
