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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 he goes crazy and start crying, "he explains, with the end of fatigue. 19659003] Curin – worried but resigned by the obesity of his son – believes that "we will all end up with kidney disease, with diabetes and high blood pressure" because of what we eat [19659003"ButIdonotseeanysolution"concludes
In Chile, however, a few years ago, a possible solution to this problem was put to the test – for many "epidemics" – which affected a third of the world's population: obesity.
of a controversial bill of approval approved in 2016 that was celebrated by the world of nutrition and puts black, tall and ugly stamps on foods that exceed certain sugar levels, of fat and sodium . "ALTO EN", writes the logos
"The truth is that we try not to buy food with a stamp, but it is difficult," says Curin.
Gradually, the law imposed on food companies increasingly strict rules on advertising targeting children, information on ingredients and sales in schools of the country
] Wednesday, June 27, two years after the coming into force of the law. there was a new cut, so more products will have to put the famous stamp on their packages.
Top positions in obesity
Chile According to several studies, it is one of the countries where obesity is highest in Latin America
L & # 39; last year, the World Health Organization reported that 63% of the adult population is overweight a rate reduced to 50%
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
. Senator Guido Girardi – a medical graduate – proposed adopting this law against the will of food companies, a process that took him a decade, demonstrations on the streets and fierce fighting with the media, politicians and the citizens. [19659018] Guido Girardi is one of the most controversial senators in Chile. Some consider him a "political animal", others a "small". He credits it with "a career dedicated to stepping on tripe."
"What we want is that the industry sells food and not junk," he says. he says in his office.
The honorable senator points out the nutritional information file of 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 have 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 some the education we need to do is to rebuild the culture of cooking. "
" It concludes that sugar is the tobacco of the 21st century, "sooner or later", there will be more taxes, conscience and disgust for processed foods.
Projects like the Labeling Act were attempted in Colombia, the United States, and Mexico, but the food business lobby was able to stop them with political pressure and arguments over the past few years. real impact of a law on food culture.
"We fully share the objectives of this" We believe that there is a problem of obesity, that we must promote healthy lifestyles and that there are elements of the right to Labeling, like the kiosks of healthy living, are positive. "
However, the business world is questioning the same measures, seals and criteria for different products, not only for their ingredients but also for their ingredients.
"We have seen, with studies, that these products represent only 30% of the diet. people's food, and that there are equally dangerous traditional products that are not labeled, "he says.
An example is sopaipilla, a traditional bread that is fried, sweetened and eaten daily in the Southern Cone.
"That's what I mean," says 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 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 nor AB Chile if the law worked, because the studies on this subject have not been 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 of the University of Chile by train to review the legislation, ensures that "we have seen, for example, that the industry respected the seals and that people understand the logos and connect them to more or less health, especially when they buy a new product. "
"We also find, through groups of discussion that children tell mothers not to buy products with stamps because they do not let them take them to school; The latter is corroborated by Álvarez: "We have never hinted at the economic question of impact, but if you ask me the question, there has been a cost."
"Even though it was only at the beginning, there was a drop in sales, "he adds.
" The usual change "
But the question of whether the people have changed, is more or less big after the law has no answer.According to the Ministry of Health, this will be known in 8 or 10 years.
Neither industry nor lawmakers Deny that virtually no Chilean was left out of the turmoil that spawned this law.
Back to a supermarket in Santiago, this time in the Nathaniel neighborhood, several families with children aboard the cart say they know the stamps, but do not necessarily take them into account
Leonor López, a 10-year-old girl, explains – a with the downline of his mother – what the logos mean and why he does not like the products that have them.
"It's that they have a lot of fat, guácala," he says. But these are not just the stamps: "The media compañeras (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 says that they "have facilitated the process of choosing what I eat"
"I was looking at the tablet, but now it's much 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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