Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Despite government programs trying to target obesity, Mexico has overtaken the U.S. as the world's most obese country, according to a new United Nations report out this week.
The report found 32.8 percent of Mexican adults are obese, more than the U.S., which has a 31.8 percent obesity rate. Obesity in Mexico could be a result of various reasons, explains Dudley Althaus, a Mexico correspondent for Global Post who has been reporting on this story.
He says that, for one, greasy and processed foods are extremely popular in Mexico.
“It seems like every other day and every other block, there’s a convenience store that’s popping up,” Althaus said on Take Two. “These places are just chock-full of junk food.”
Another possible reason, which was pointed out by Althaus’ niece, is that many people eat from street vendors who often sell unhealthy items.
“You’ll see people standing in the streets eating fried tacos or fried gorditas and tamales and other foods, which aren’t really that good for you in mass quantities,” Althaus said.
The Mexican government has been trying to eradicate these bad eating habits through advertising campaigns, such as putting up billboards targeting school-aged children’s addiction to soft drinks. The new government and president is continuing that initiative, but Althaus says it’s not as aggressive.
Then comes the age-old question: Whose responsibility is this really—government or parents?
“Parents are very aware of their responsibilities, but you know these habits are hard to break,” Althaus said. “They’re kind of new habits, for one thing…it’s a tough turnaround as we’ve seen in the United States as well."
However, Althaus thinks habits are changing. Though vendors selling unhealthy foods tend to station themselves outside schools at the time they let out, some kids are choosing to buy snacks from vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables.
The U.N, State Of Food and Agriculture Report