Curb obesity with policy

Chief Executive Officer of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB), Michelle Daniel is urging the government to follow the lead of Chile by implementing a law which protects children from marketing strategies which target them and bring policies that sensitise children about unhealthy junk foods and sweetened beverages.

In a recent press release, Daniel said like Barbados, Chile is showing disturbing rates of obesity and overweight among both its children and adult population. The decision by the Chilean government to implement a comprehensive basket of obesity prevention policies has led to substantial reductions in the marketing and purchase of sugar sweetened beverages in just three years.

“It is clear that the World Health Organisation’s proposed policies can help to urgently reduce the challenge of obesity and non-communicable diseases. We look forward to our government implementing policies like these sooner rather than later, ” said Daniel.

Chilean law targets unhealthy foods and beverages
After Chile implemented a Food Labeling and Advertising law which targeted unhealthy processed foods and beverages and reduction of child directed marketing strategies, there is strong evidence that Barbados could benefit from a similar initiative.

In a HSFB press release entitled “Policy can make the difference: Landmark Chilean Law Is Effective In Tackling Drivers Of Obesity”, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB) is
highlighting Chilean studies which show “policies do work to reduce consumers’ sugary drink purchases, children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing and advertising”.

In 2016, Chile implemented the Law of, which is the first national regulation that requires front-of-package warning labels on foods and beverages high in added sugars, salt, or saturated fats, restricts child-directed marketing of such foods, and bans the sales of these foods in and near schools. It was noted that the South American country is being confronted by high rates of childhood obesity and high incidence of non-communicable diseases.

Take aways from implementation of law
A Public Health Nutrition study found that the Chilean policy led to significant reductions in children’s exposure to junk food ads. An International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health study found that there was a significantly lower use of child-directed marketing strategies in sugary breakfast cereal packages as a result of the Chilean policy.

While sugary drink purchases had decreased slightly after implementation of a previous 5 percent tax of sugary drinks, there were much larger reductions in the volume of high-in-sugar beverage purchases once the additional policy measures went into effect. A collaborative study between researchers at the University of Chile’s Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, the University of North Carolina, and Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública found that bundled obesity prevention policies led to a significant reduction in purchases of sugar- sweetened beverages (SSBs) in Chilean households (24 percent ). The findings were published in the online peer-reviewed weekly medical journal PLOS Medicine on February 11, 2020. The study underscores how a comprehensive policy can strongly influence consumer behavior.