Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity, replacing unhealthy snacks with nutritious alternatives.

According to officials, a government-sponsored ban on junk food in Mexican schools went into force on Saturday as the nation works to combat one of the greatest obesity and diabetes epidemics in the world.

The health guidelines, which were first released last October, directly target processed foods and beverages that have been commonplace for generations of Mexican schoolchildren. These include packaged chips, sugary fruit drinks, soy-encased, chili-flavored peanuts, and artificial pig rinds.

“Goodbye, junk food!” was the post made on X by Mexico’s Education Ministry announcing the ban had been enacted. As governments fight to curb the world's obesity crisis, Mexico's bold initiative to reshape its food culture and retrain the next generation of customers is being keenly studied worldwide.

The new directive from Mexico mandates that schools phase out any food and beverages that have even one black warning logo that indicates they are high in fat, calories, sugar, and salt. In 2020, the mandatory front-of-package labeling system was introduced in Mexico.

Mexican children consume more junk food than youngsters in any other Latin American nation, according to UNICEF, which has deemed the nation's childhood obesity epidemic an emergency. The agency claims that sugary drinks and highly processed foods account for 40% of children's daily caloric consumption.

Administrators at schools who violate the directive risk severe penalties, which can range from $545 to $5,450. However, implementation is difficult in Mexico, where prior junk food bans have failed to take hold and oversight has been slack in the 255,000 schools, many of which lack water fountains, as well as dependable internet and electricity.