A few months ago, Juan Pedro Franco, a Mexican man who weighs nearly 600 kilograms and is known as the fattest in the world, just completed a stomach reduction operation and took the first step to lose weight. Now, 10-month-old Louis is suffering from obesity again. At birth, he was only 3.5 kilograms, and his weight has soared to 28 kilograms … … From children to adults, what has "fattened" Mexicans?
Starting with feeding children coke
According to the latest report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the obesity rate of people over 15 years old in Mexico is 33.3%, that is, one in every three adults has obesity problem. At the same time, the incidence of adult diabetes in Mexico is the highest among OECD members, reaching 15.8%, more than twice the average level of 7%.
Judging from their eating habits, many Mexicans like high-calorie and high-sugar foods, including fast food and carbonated drinks. These foods are rich in fat, sugar, salt and chemicals, which are easy to fill the stomach and affordable. Some parents even put coke in bottles to feed their children. According to data provided by Euromonitor International, a market research organization, Mexicans consume about 163 liters of carbonated drinks per person every year.
Obesity is not only accompanied by diabetes, but also chronic diseases caused by hypertension and nutritional imbalance. The Mexican Institute of Competitiveness released a report saying that dozens of diseases suffered by Mexican people are inseparable from obesity.
November 14th is World Diabetes Day. Mexican Health Minister Jose Naro said that the number of diabetic patients in Mexico increased to 105,000 in 2016, an increase of 7,000 over the previous year.
Causing the North American Free Trade Agreement?
In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement concluded by the United States, Canada and Mexico came into effect, which reduced or eliminated a considerable number of commodity tariffs. The Mexican media Cosmos pointed out that with the entry into force of the agreement, Mexico quickly became a "junk food" paradise.
The Mexican media quoted Alejandro Calviyo, the head of the non-governmental organization "Consumer Power", as saying that the Mexican authorities failed to introduce policies in time to protect people’s diet structure and let the market be free, resulting in the proliferation of low-quality food and junk food advertisements in the market for a time.
Traditional Mexican foods such as mutton, tortillas and cactus are mostly low in fat and high in fiber. After the liberalization of the market, the Mexican people’s dependence on processed fast food has been increasing, and the intake of grains, vegetables and fruits has decreased, resulting in the phenomenon that many Mexicans want hamburgers instead of tortillas.
However, contreras, a foreign trade expert at Ibero-American University in Mexico, believes that NAFTA is not the decisive factor of obesity in Mexico. In today’s society, obesity and overweight have become a "world phenomenon". With the advancement of urbanization, new technologies continue to develop, which has a profound impact on people’s life and diet, including "fattening people up".
The president called on the whole people to lose weight.
The Mexican government has realized the seriousness of the obesity problem and launched a national "weight loss revolution", calling on the whole people to lose weight.
In 2013, Mexican President Oena issued an action plan, calling on people to take more walks, take more stairs, exercise for one hour every day and live a healthy life.
Oena advocates promoting a healthier diet and encourages food enterprises to improve their recipes and produce low-calorie or high-fiber foods. He also decided to levy a tax of 8% on high-calorie foods with a calorie content of more than 275 per 100 grams, and to levy a tax on soft drinks.
"In the face of a real epidemic of overweight and obesity, we can’t stand idly by," Oena said. "The lives of millions of Mexicans are in danger."
Relevant measures have achieved initial results. In 2014, after Mexico raised the tariff on sugary drinks to 10%, the sales of such drinks dropped by 10%. The Mexican government hopes to reduce the obesity rate by 2.5% by 2024 and prevent 134,000 cases of diabetes by 2030 through tariff policy.
On the other hand, the Mexican government is also actively responding to the call of the World Health Organization to strengthen the control of junk food advertising, especially for minors. According to Xinhua News Agency