- In Mexico, one in 20 children under the age of five suffers from obesity, warns Senator Eva Eugenia Galaz Caletti
Schools have become obesity and malnutrition factories, due to the kind of food they offer students, said Senator Eva Eugenia Galaz Caletti, from Morena.
Therefore, through a point of agreement, the legislator seeks to urge the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Public Education, to promote healthy eating in all schools in the country.
“If during the first years of life children consume a balanced diet, it will be easier for them to later comply with the standards of healthy eating for their adult life, which would help to avoid eating disorders such as overweight, obesity and malnutrition” , expressed in the document.
He said that the consumption of food of low nutritional value, by infants and adolescents, occurs from the educational establishments, since the places installed at the exit of schools or in the surroundings sell soft drinks, snacks, sweets, popsicles, chicharrones, ice creams and a wide range of similar foods that contribute to the development of obesity and malnutrition.
He pointed out that according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), overweight and obesity in Mexico are a problem that occurs from early childhood.
Similarly, he pointed out that at least one in 20 children under the age of five suffers from obesity, which favors overweight for the rest of their lives and puts them at risk of suffering from circulatory, heart and kidney diseases, diabetes, among others. others.
Mexico, he warned, is among the first places in childhood obesity in the world, due to the high consumption of processed foods, which are very easy to acquire due to their wide distribution, low cost and their promotion in the mass media.
This type of diet -he added- prevents students from growing, developing, protecting themselves from illnesses and having the energy to study, learn and be physically active.
For this reason, he pointed out, holistic and coherent school programs and policies are key to achieving the human rights of children to food, education and health. The point of agreement is registered in the Parliamentary Gazette of Wednesday, December 14.
