Mexico City – Officials said that the ban on unwanted food by the government in schools all over Mexico entered into force on Saturday, as the country is trying to treat one of the worst epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the world.
Health instructions, which were first published in the past fallTake a direct snapshot of salty and sweet products that have become an essential component of generations of Mexican school students, such as sugary fruit drinks, bottled chips, artificial pork scales, and pepper -covered peppers.
With the announcement that the ban has become a law, the Ministry of Education in Mexico published X: “Farewell, unwanted food!” Encourage parents to support the Crusade of the government by cooking healthy meals for their children.
“One of the basic principles of the Mexican schools system in New Mexican is a healthy living,” said Mario Delgado, Minister of Public Health. “There is a high level of acceptance of this policy among parents.”
Mexico’s ambitious attempt to reshape its nutritional culture and reprogram the next generation of consumers is closely monitored all over the world where governments are struggling to convert the tide to a Global obesity epidemic.
In the United StatesFor example, Minister of Health in the Trump Administration, Robert F. Kennedy JuniorHe pledged to provide the country’s food system and “” Make America healthy again “By targeting treated foods Cruster obesity And the disease.
Under the new demand for Mexico, schools must gradually get rid of any food and drinks offered Even one black warning logo Put a sign of a height in salt, sugar, calories and fats. Mexico carried out that The compulsory assignment signs system in 2020.
It is imposed on Monday morning, the beginning of the school week, and it requires the prohibition of unwanted meals schools to serve more nutritious alternatives to unwanted foods, such as taco sandwiches, and providing simple drinking water.
He said: “It is better to eat taco beans from a bag of potato chips.” Mexican President Claudia ShinbomWho defended the ban.
Mexico children consume unwanted food than anywhere else in Latin America, according to UNICEF, which classifies the childhood obesity epidemic in the country as an emergency. Sugar drinks and very processed foods are 40 % of the total calories that children consume in one day, according to agency reports.
“At my daughter’s school, they told us that future activities will not have a candy, which will be completely different, with fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods for children,” said Aurora Martinez, a mother of two children. “It will help us a lot.”
A third of Mexican children consider weight gain or obesity, according to government statistics.
School officials face a violation of the demand for severe fines, ranging from $ 545 to $ 5450.
But enforcement is a challenge in a country where Block unwanted meals previously They fought for traction and monitoring, was dodging across 255,000 schools in Mexico, many of which lack water fountains – even reliable Internet and electricity.
It was also not immediately clear how the government would prohibit the sale of fast food on the sidewalks outside the school campus, as sellers usually make sweets, chips and ice cream for children during the holiday and after the end of the school day.
“It will be difficult,” said April Geraldine Rose de Leon, a child therapist. “But this will be achieved in the long run.”