Some Parts Of Mexico Move To Ban Junk Food, Soda Sales To Minors

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A person buys soda at a convenience store in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on April 13. The country has high levels of obesity and medical conditions that health authorities warn are related to a diet high in soda and processed foods. Mauricio Palos/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

A person buys soda at a convenience store in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, on April 13. The country has high levels of obesity and medical conditions that health authorities warn are related to a diet high in soda and processed foods.

Picture this: You're 17, you walk into a corner store and grab a Coca-Cola and Doritos, but the cashier refuses to sell them to you because you're underage.

That rule is expected to soon become reality in parts of Mexico, as lawmakers in several states push legislation to keep junk food away from children, partly in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

First Oaxaca's state legislature passed a ban on selling or giving out high-calorie packaged foods and sugar-sweetened drinks to minors on Aug. 5. Less than two weeks later, Tabasco state approved a prohibition, too. Now at least a dozen other states are considering similar legislation.

"I know it can sound a bit drastic but we had to take action now," says Magaly López, a lawmaker in Oaxaca's Congress who spearheaded the ban.

More than 70,000 Mexicans have died from COVID-19, the world's fourth-highest recorded death toll, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University. Two-thirds of those who died in Mexico had an underlying medical condition such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular problems, according to Health Department officials. That has led to a new urgency to change diets so that the younger generation doesn't suffer those ailments.

The party's critics, however, say its leaders are using preexisting health conditions in COVID-19 patients to distract from a weak government response to the virus outbreak.

Yet few would deny the country consumes large amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed snacks with little nutrition — or that Mexico has a major weight problem.

One-third of Mexicans aged 6 to 19 are overweight or obese, according toUNICEF. They may not be disproportionately affected by COVID-19 now, but they can suffer myriad health issues, especially in adulthood.

"Bottled poison"

Senior federal officials have been calling on citizens to cut back on junk food. Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell has called soda "bottled poison."

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Mexico's assistant health secretary, Hugo López-Gatell, speaks about plans for Mexico to produce an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, at the national palace in Mexico City, on Aug. 13. Hector Vivas/Getty Images hide caption