Perspective: Mexico’s Experience in Building a Toolkit for Obesity and Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention

Abstract

Perspective: Mexico’s Experience in Building a Toolkit for Obesity and Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention Juan A Rivera 1,*, M onica Arantxa Colchero 2, Carolina P erez-Ferrer 1, Sim on Barquera 3 1 Center for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico; 2 Center for Evaluation and Surveys Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico; 3 Center for Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico A B S T R A C T Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with a higher risk of death in low- and middleincome countries. Diet and excess weight are risk factors for NCDs. In Mexico, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased dramatically in the last 30 y and is among the highest in the world. To address this public health problem, governments and public health professionals have several policy instruments available. In this study, we present the policy instruments currently approved in Mexico, which include fiscal, informational, and authoritative tools that aim to improve the food environment and promote healthy behaviors (taxes, school food guidelines, front-of-pack labeling, marketing regulations, and dietary guidelines). These types of interventions are important in regions like Latin America, where social inequities and poor access to information are common, and individual healthy choices are often limited. These interventions target the environments in which individuals live, study, work, and seek entertainment, while limiting access to unhealthy choices and offering information to promote healthy alternatives. The Mexican experience in design, implementation, and evaluation of policies to improve the food environment can be useful for other low- and middle-income countries facing similar challenges. Keywords: Mexico, nutrition policy, overweight, obesity, health taxes, front-of-pack warning labels, marketing regulations, school food policies, dietary guidelines