With the second highest national rate of obesity in the world
(after the U.S.) and the fourth highest rate of childhood
obesity, Mexico has started an initiative to help educate
children about healthy eating habits and the dangers associated
with sugary beverages and fatty foods. According to a report
from AFP, Mexicans lead the world in soft drink consumption,
imbibing approximately 43 gallons per person every year. “The
(child) obesity problem arrived over 30 years and maybe we won’t
need 30 years (to reduce it), but we will need at least 10 years
to stabilize it,” said Mexican Education Minister Jose Angel
Cordova in a press conference. Last year, CNN notes, Mexico’s
Institute for Public Health reported obesity among school-aged
children went from 18.4 percent in 1999 to 26.2 percent in 2006,
and more than 69 percent of the Mexican population over the age
of 15 is overweight. Part of the problem, say experts, is that
Mexico has strong culture of road-side food stands, where
students can easily buy inexpens