When a southern Mexican state effectively outlawed sales of sugary drinks and sweets to children to protect public health, the ban made international news. But few people in Oaxaca – even some fizzy drinks distributors and shop owners – are aware of the rule and the authorities have not enforced the potentially unpopular measure, despite tens of thousands of deaths nationally a year linked to sugary beverages, as obesity and diabetes rates soar.
Oaxaca might be known as the culinary capital of Mexico, but like elsewhere in the country, diets have shifted towards ultra-processed foods and higher meat consumption – as well as sugary drinks. Today the state has the highest rate of child obesity in Mexico and the second highest among adults.
