Healthy Eating is the theme of World Consumer Rights Day on 15 March
Since 2013 the World Lung Foundation (WLF)/ The Union North America (UNA) has offered technical assistance and developed obesity prevention communication initiatives in Mexico, promoting behaviour change and advocating for sound policies against obesity by implementing powerful mass media campaigns.
Obesity is an alarming public health concern in Mexico, which has now according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the world’s highest rate of adult obesity, with one third of all adults obese. One-third of children and 70%of adults are overweight or obese.
In 2013 World Lung Foundation (WLF)/ The Union North America (UNA) carried out Mexico’s first mass media campaign against obesity through its sponsored affiliate InformChange, a nonprofit consultancy focused on health communications and social marketing, which provided technical assistance.
The hard-hitting campaign Don’t harm yourself drinking sugary drinks (Sugary Drinks) called attention to the harms of soda consumption and built support for a groundbreaking soda tax, which was passed in October 2013. Reports suggest that Mexico’s soda tax already has had a positive impact on reducing soda sales. This obesity prevention campaign was also a success in terms of raised awareness, which will eventually lead to changes in behaviour: of those surveyed, 74% reported that they would reduce the number of sugary drinks they consume, and 92% reported that they intended to increase the amount of water they serve their children.
In 2014, WLF/UNA provided technical assistance to the Mexican civil society network the Alliance for Healthy Food on the design and development of the second phase of its obesity prevention mass media campaign called Our Kids Come First; and, in 2015, on the second phase of its childhood obesity prevention mass media campaign called What did your children eat today?.
The main objectives of these recent campaigns have been to build support for a comprehensive ban on adverts for junk food and sugary drinks and marketing tools that target children, which, if not prevented, could lead to obesity, illness and even death. They also aim to raise awareness among parents, guardians and policy-makers that one-third of Mexican children will develop diabetes during their lifetime, largely because of their consumption of junk food and sugary drinks. The Public Service Announcement (PSA) asserts that exposure to junk food marketing influences eating patterns and preferences, which therefore need to be forcefully countered.
The Bloomberg Philanthropies Obesity Prevention Program provided funding and support for the launch of the campaign and the World Lung Foundation’s technical assistance.