Think the Earth

PHOTO BY VLADIMIR BARRERA

Mexico has the world's second-highest adult obesity rate after its neighbor, the U.S. And the Mexican children raised by such "parents" are now at the top of world obesity charts. It is said that 1 out of 4 elementary school children in Mexico are overweight or obese. So this is becoming a serious social issue for Mexico.

People in Mexico love tacos. Unfortunately they contain few vegetables and much fat, and what makes it worse, many people believe the soft drinks go extremely well with them (Mexico also has the highest per capita consumption of Coca-Cola in the world).
You can find adults and children stuffing themselves with tacos and chugging sweetened juice at many taco stands.

Bad diet is a contributing factor to obesity, but another factor is the lack of exercise. According to the latest research conducted by the Nutrition and Health Research Center , the average time elementary school kids in Mexico spend running and jumping around a day is a mere 13 minutes.

Last month, the lower house of the Mexican Congress unanimously passed a health reform bill that aims to ban sales of sweets and junk food at shops within schools while obligating a half-an-hour of physical exercise in class every day. The government hasn't stopped there. They are also calling on parents to cooperate by providing nutritious meals at home.

If the Mayans and the Aztecs who built advanced civilizations in the region could see the bulging waistline of the people in Mexico today, they would be quite surprised.