Update and Comparative Analysis of Food Environment Policies in Mexico: Implementation of the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index in 2016 and 2024
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Mexico faces a public health crisis due to the rising prevalence of obesity and noncommunicable diseases, primarily driven by unhealthy food environments. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a second implementation of the Food Environment Policy Index in Mexico to assess policy implementation levels related to healthy food environments and to compare progress made from 2016 to 2024. METHODS: A national panel of 75 experts from three groups-64.0% from academia, 17.3% from government, and 18.7% from civil society organizations-assessed the level of policy implementation of 72 food environment-related indicators against international best practices. RESULTS: The highest levels of policy implementation were found in the Food Labeling domain (e.g., List of ingredients/nutrient declarations and Front-of-package labeling) and the Monitoring and Intelligence domain (e.g., National surveys used in policy design and modification). Eighteen indicators improved in 2024; differences in proportions were statistically significant. The Food Retail domain showed the highest improvement (e.g., Incentives to increase the offer of healthy foods in stores). The expert panel identified five priority indicators and made corresponding recommendations. CONCLUSION: Mexico has made progress in several aspects of the food environment; however, significant gaps in policy implementation remain and must be addressed to sustain momentum toward transforming the food system and improving nutrition and health for the entire population.
Source: Obesity Reviews
DOI: 10.1111/obr.70013
Authors: Ana Munguía, Yatziri Ayvar‐Gama, Vania Lara‐Mejía, Regina Durán, Claudia Nieto, Estefania Rodríguez, Lizbeth Tolentino‐Mayo, Anayancin Acuña‐Ruiz, Evelia Apolinar‐Jiménez, Armando Hazael Ayala‐Román, Carolina Batis, Victoria Eugenia Bolado‐García, Verónica Doré Castillo‐García, Alejandra Contreras‐Manzano, Carlos Cruz‐Casarrubias, Rebeca Cruz‐Santacruz, Anabel Fiorella Espinosa‐De Candido, Héctor Esquivias‐Zavala, Ileana Guadalupe Fajardo‐Niquete, Mario Efraín Flores‐Aldana, Ana Laura González‐Alejo, Hilda María Jiménez‐Acevedo, Ana Larrañaga‐Flota, Mercedes López‐Martínez, Paulina Magaña‐Carbajal, Sophia Eugenia Martínez‐Vázquez, Catalina Medina, Mildred Moreno‐Villanueva, Ángel Pedraza‐López, Vivian Pérez‐Jiménez, Rafael Regla‐Aguirre, Alicia Elizabeth Robledo‐Galván, Ana Gabriela Romero‐Juárez, Guadalupe Ruiz‐Vivanco, Janine Sagaceta‐Mejía, Mariana Saldivar‐Frausto, Jaime Salvador‐Moysén, Fabiola Sánchez‐Meza, Cuauhtémoc Sandoval‐Salazar, Loredana Tavano‐Colaizzi, Mishel Unar‐Munguía, Javier Villanueva‐Sánchez, Ma. Elena Villarreal‐Arce, Simón Barquera
Institutions: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas "Francisco García Salinas", Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad del Bajío, Servicios de Salud del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social para el Bienestar, Servicios de Salud de Yucatán, Universidad Veracruzana, Secretaría de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación, Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, United Nations Children's Fund, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Autonomous University of Yucatán, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas, El Poder del Consumidor AC, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Health Organization Regional Office for the Americas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Universidad de Guanajuato, Universidad de Guanajuato Campus Celaya-Salvatierra, Universidad Iberoamericana, University of Monterrey
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,450
Award: G8865587318
OpenAlex ID: W4415566625