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Mexico announced last week that it was restricting television advertising on high-calorie food and soda in an effort to stem the rising tide of obesity. Registered dietitians weigh in on the impact of the measure, which is the farthest any country has gone to restrict advertising.

All told, 40% of commercials for soft drinks, confectionery products and chocolates will be pulled from the TV in favor of products that “meet nutritional standards”, according to the Mexican health ministry. The ads will be banned on Network and Cable TV between 2:30 and 7:30 pm on weekdays and between 7:30 am and 7:30 pm on weekends.

Restrictions will also be imposed on similar ads shown in movie theaters.

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Advertising has one goal: to raise awareness and get people to buy more of the food being advertised,” Lisa Young, RD, PhD of New York University, told FoodNavigator-USA. ”
The junk food industry has a lot of money behind it. Why do we want to promote a country that’s already struggling with high rates of obesity and diabetes to eat more junk food? The logical first step is to limit advertising and promote healthy food.“

Approximately 70% of adults and 30% of children in Mexico are obese or overweight, just slightly lower than US figures. Out of the 34 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Mexico has the highest rate od diabetics.