Mexico Targets Junk Food as Obesity Takes Toll Amid Pandemic

 

Several Mexican states have proposed¹ or approved bans on junk food sales to children. The country has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity² as well as a high rate of death for young people.

The Gulf³ coast state of Tabasco passed restrictions⁴ on the sale of sugary bottled drinks and snacks that are high in carbohydrates⁵. Oaxaca state was the first to use such a ban.

Lawmakers in several other states have introduced bills to do the same. Most of the bans would stop the sale of junk food to young people unless their parent is present.

In the northern state of Chihuahua, Representative Rene Frias introduced a bill "to guarantee our children and youths a healthier diet and to fight obesity..." The bill has not yet been voted on.

In Mexico City, Mayor⁶ Claudia Sheinbaum said earlier this month that leaders there are working to put together similar laws.

The issue has become important because of the coronavirus pandemic. Mexico has the third highest confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the world, behind the United States and Brazil.

The government has said that high blood pressure and obesity are the main conditions that may have caused the disease⁷ to become more severe.

Hugo López-Gatell is the government's main voice during the pandemic. He is a big supporter of the junk food ban, in part because about 50 percent of Mexico's deaths from the virus have been people under 65. He has blamed obesity and bad diets. He has described soft drinks as "bottled poison."

But what exactly is "junk food?" That is the main problem for the writers of the new laws. Oaxaca is still working on its list, mostly because there are a lot of traditional Mexican foods that have a lot of sugar, salt and calories.

The lawmakers want to avoid banning traditional sweet foods. Instead, they have blamed packaged foods made by major international companies.

For example, the Tabasco law used hard-to-understand language to avoid including traditional food.

The new laws may be hard to enforce⁸. Some multi-national packaged foods, like Doritos corn chips, have become part of Mexico's food culture.

The U.N. Children's Fund⁹ says child obesity is a health emergency in Mexico. It says the country's children have the highest rate in the world of junk food eating. Many young people there get 40 percent of their total calories from junk food.

Business groups have complained about the effect the laws will have on tens of thousands of small stores and street businesses that make a lot of their money selling junk food. The business groups say it will create a new junk food black market.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

junk food– n. food that is usually very sweet and has little nutritional¹⁰ value

carbohydrate– n.a biomolecule that causes people to gain weight

guarantee– v. to make certain

transfat– n.

calorie– n. a unit of energy that cases the body to make fat

prohibition– n. to make something illegal to own or see

1 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

2 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

3 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 carbohydrates   

n.碳水化合物，糖类( carbohydrate的名词复数 )；淀粉质或糖类食物

参考例句：

• The plant uses the carbohydrates to make cellulose. 植物用碳水化合物制造纤维素。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All carbohydrates originate from plants. 所有的碳水化合物均来自植物。 来自辞典例句

6 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

7 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

8 enforce   

vt.实施，执行；强制，强迫；加强，坚持

参考例句：

• You have no right to enforce your own views on me.你无权把你自己的观点强加给我。
• They tried to enforce agreement with their plans.他们企图迫使人们同意他们的计划。

9 fund   

n.基金，资金，存款，财源，贮藏；vt.提供资金，积累

参考例句：

• They decided to set up a fund for this purpose.他们决定为此专立一项基金。
• This fund may not be drawn on without permission.这笔钱非经批准不得动用。

10 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。