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It is six o'clock on Wednesday and Luz Curin, a 37-year-old paramedic, is buying with her three-year-old son who, stuck in the cart, jumps, plays and bites a toy dinosaur [19659002TheboywithbigeyesandanintimidatinglookalsoreturnsapacketofchocolatecookiesthathehopestoeatoncetheypayandleavethisgiantsupermarketinSanMiguelabourgeoisneighborhoodinSantiagofromChileChile
In a long corridor full of cereals and sweets, Carin explains that has no choice but to buy and give his son this "junk food".
"The child asks me because it is what he is given to the school on special occasions and if I do not give him there goes crazy and starts crying, "he explains, with the end of end-of-day fatigue
Curin – worried but resigned to his son's obesity – believes that" we will all find ourselves with kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension "because of what we eat.
"But I do not see it In Chile, however, a few years ago, a possible solution to this problem was put to the test – for many" epidemics "- which affects a third of the population World: Obesity
.] It is a controversial labeling law approved in 2016 that was celebrated by the world of nutrition and puts black stamps, tall and ugly on foods that exceed certain levels of sugar, fat and sodium "ALTO EN", writes the logos
"The truth is that we try not to buy food with a stamp, but this 39, is difficult, "says Curin.
Gradually, the law has imposed on food companies increasingly strict rules on advertising aimed at children, information about the ingredients and sale in schools of the country
Wednesday, June 27, two years after the entry into v Because of the law, there was a new cut, so more products will have to put the famous seal in their packages.
Top positions in obesity
Chile is one of the countries with the highest rates of obesity in Latin America, According to several studies
The year last, the World Health Organization reported that 63% of the adult population is overweight a rate that is reduced to 50% in children six years old or younger
According to the WHO, Chile is, after Mexico, the country that consumes the most processed food in the region, with an annual average of 201 kilos per person
To reverse this trend, Senator Guido Girardi – graduated in medicine – proposed to approve this law against the will of food companies, a process that lasted a decade, demonstrations on the street and fierce fighting with the media, politicians and citizens.
"What we want is that the industry sells food and not garbage" Congress, taking a box of cereals and sample.
The senator shows the nutrition information card for the product and asks me, "What do you understand about this?"
"Nothing," I answer. And then he explains: "That's what they're looking for, that information about what this product is so confusing that you can not understand it." " People are not obese because they are, but because there was misleading advertising because neurointelligence specialists manipulated people to change their eating habits, "he tells me.
I'm talking about the case of Curin, the paramedic who does not have time to cook." And he's right, "he replies," because a part of the education we need to do is to rebuild the culture of cooking. "
" People today do not consume products, but rather lifestyle a American style that has separated us from our traditions. "
But in addition to educating, which takes time and is complicated, Girardi goes to public policy:" With this you can cross the market so that it is consumed more audibly. "
" Sugar is tobacco of the 21st century, "he concludes, about which -" sooner or later "- there will be more taxes, conscience and disgust on processed foods.
Labeling has been tried to promote in Colombia, the United States and Mexico, but the food business lobby has managed to stop them with political pressure and arguments about the real impact of food products. a law on food culture. "We fully share the objectives of this law," said Rodrigo Álvarez, president of the chamber of agribusiness, AB Chile.
"We believe that there is a problem of Obesity, that we must promote healthy lifestyles and there are elements of the law of labeling, such as healthy living kiosks, which are positive. "
However, the business community questions the same measures, seals and criteria applied to dissimilar products or by its ingredients, but also because of its liquid or solid state.
" We have seen, with studies, that these products represent only 30% of people's diets, and that traditional products are just as harmful as they are not labeled, "he says.
An example may be sopaipilla, a traditional bread that is fried, sweetened and eaten daily in the Southern Cone.
"That's what I mean," said Álvarez; you can not demonize a product that meets health standards when there are many others that are consumed in bad conditions. "
" The problem is not necessarily the amount of sugar that each product has; is the size and the quantity of the portions and that is why we propose a more explanatory approach of the norm so that people modify their eating habits ", concludes Álvarez.
What the studies say
Ni Girardi or AB Chile if the law worked, because the studies on this subject were not completed.
Although different surveys conducted during the first year show that the majority of Chileans – between 50 and 70% – approve the law and say that they have changed their habits, the concrete impact takes time to measure.
Camila Colvaran, one of the researchers at the University of Chile reviewing legislation, badures that "we have seen, for example, that the industry respected the seals and that people understand the logos and link them to more or less health, especially when they buy a new product. "
" We also found, through focus groups [19459015thatthechildrengavethemmotherswhodonotbuyproductswithstampsbecausetheyarenotallowedtotakethemtoschoolthelatteriscorroboratedbyÁlvarez:"Wehaveneverhintedattheeconomicissueofimpactbutifyouaskmethequestiontherehasbeenacost"
" Although it was only in the beginning, there was a drop in sales, "he adds.
" I changed my habits "
But the Whether people According to the Ministry of Health, this will be known in 8 or 10 years.
Neither industry nor lawmakers deny that virtually no Chilean has been left behind 39, gap of agitation that generated this law
Back in a supermarket in Santiago, this time in the neighborhood of Nathaniel, several families with children aboard the tank say that they know the stamps, but do not necessarily take them into account.
Leonor López, a 10-year-old girl, explains – with the approval of her mother – what the logos mean and why he does not like them products that have them.
"It's that they have a lot of fat, keep it," he says.But it's not just the stamps: "The compañeras of the m dias (secondary) sell blown full of fat and I do not like them either. "
And Felipe Neira, a 44-year-old engineer who markets with his wife and son he says they" have facilitated the process of choosing what I eat "
" I was looking at the tablet, but now it's a lot easier to know what I want and what I do not want, "he says. It's the priority, but then there is health and finally if you like it, "he laughs as his son crosses the corridors with a sword in his hand.
" Look, c & rsquo; Is what we buy now. "he tells me, it's a bag of carrots."
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