What kind of food policies can implement the Spanish government to address the childhood obesity epidemic?

e202609046

Abstract

The prevalence of childhood obesity in Spain is one of the highest in Europe, with 34.1% overweight, 10.3% obesity, and 31.2% abdominal obesity. The figures have decreased slightly in recent years, but only in higher-income families, leading to an increase in social inequalities in health. Childhood obesity is associated with the substitution of fresh foods, typical of the Mediterranean diet, for ultra-processed foods, a phenomenon more pronounced in low-income families. Behind this change in eating habits are the commercial determinants of health: the mass production and distribution of cheap ultra-processed foods, their intensive advertising, and the corporate capture of Public Health. The objective of this article was to propose to the Spanish Government a range of food policies on pricing, supply, advertising and food labeling, taking into account the limitations of the interventions carried out so far within the framework of strategies and plans to reduce childhood obesity in Spain. First, approve a legal regulation restricting advertising to which children (under eighteen years of age) are exposed through all advertising channels, including outdoor advertising, and prohibit sponsorship of sporting, cultural, or any other type of events that children may attend. Second, adapt the Royal Decree on school canteens to the Harvard Plate Guidelines and, specifically, always use whole grains, increase the presence of vegetables and greens, excluding potatoes, and limit animal protein consumption to a maximum of two servings per week. Third, implement a tax on sugary drinks and provide a subsidy for the purchase of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to all Spanish households experiencing food insecurity. And fourth, implement an interpretive front-of-pack nutritional labeling system. The implementation of these measures is essential to guarantee children's rights to health, food, full personal development, education, information, play and recreational and cultural activities appropriate for childhood, privacy, and non-discrimination.