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By Matthew Rees

Food and Health Fact #126: Using public policy to address obesity

See my recent interview, along with Vanita Rahman, MD, in which we discuss how restaurants contribute to obesityFind all previously published Food and Health Facts here

What is the best public policy approach to help reduce obesity? In the United States, the federal government’s posture is to do virtually nothing (as a recent Politico article highlighted). Many other countries have taken a different approach – more than 45 have enacted taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages. Some of these have been combined with new labeling laws (warning labels on products high in sugar or high in sodium; removal of cartoon figures on cereal boxes) and advertising restrictions. After Chile implemented such a measure in 2016, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages declined 25 percent in 18 months, according to one study. Some states in Mexico, which has a high national obesity rate, have taken more stringent measures. Last year, Oaxaca and Tabasco banned the sale of junk food to children. And the federal government now requires select products to carry labels that read “EXCESS SUGAR,” “EXCESS SODIUM,” “EXCESS CALORIES,” or “EXCESS TRANS FATS” (see image below). The United States was one of a few countries that tried to block Mexico’s federal labeling law last year, on trade grounds and “the significant pressure on the food and beverage industry” caused by Covid-19.