They warn that Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing an epidemic of obesity in a context of malnutrition

"Obesity currently affects about a quarter of the population and 60% of the population is overweight" in Latin America and the Caribbean, says the report titled "Agricultural Outlook 2019-2028" and conducted by the United Nations Agency for Agriculture and Food (FAO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The text indicates the "triple burden of malnutrition", a mixture of undernourishment, obesity and lack of micronutrients that creates "an increasingly serious public health problem".

The phenomenon "seems to continue to progress", warn experts from FAO and OECD, "especially for the poorest sections of the population, women, indigenous peoples, people of descent African and, in some cases, children ".

The rates of overweight and obesity, well above the global average for more than 40 years, are "comparable" to those in high income countries.

Currently, the region is "in second place in the world rankings, just after North America," the document says.

At the same time, despite the "surplus" of agricultural and food production in Latin America, the number of food-insecure people "increased for the third year in a row".

More than the availability of food, it is the costs to poor consumers that explain the deterioration of the situation, according to experts.

The World Health Organization (WHO), another agency of the United Nations, recommends that the proportion of sugars and fats not exceed 10% and 30%, respectively, of the total calories consumed. But "it seems that the eating habits of the region do not agree with those recommended," says the text.

Experts also warn of the sharp increase in animal protein consumption in an area where food was rich in grains, roots, tubers and legumes.

The report highlights some public policy initiatives such as the limitation of advertising for processed foods and beverages and the nutrition labeling detailed in packages implemented by Chile, the health-related food tax in Mexico and the law on the restoration of children in Brazil. .