Over the past two decades worldwide obesity has increased by 82%. In the
EU population the levels of overweight and obesity are rising dramatically.
Also in Latin America obesity is growing very rapidly.
As a result of its high economic and human costs, obesity has become one
of the newest targets of public health law. That the law can be a powerful
instrument of public health is effectively demonstrated by the results
obtained, for example, in reducing rates of smoking, in improving safety in
the workplace and in motor vehicles, etc. In these instances the adoption of
coercive interventions and policies – such as taxes and subsidies – has altered
the costs of certain choices and thus influenced behavior.
In this context food labeling is emerging as a major tool: the focus is not only
on providing nutrition information on foods, but also on developing initiatives
to reduce the presence of added sugar, trans fats, other saturated fats and
added sodium in foods, through a front-of-pack nutrition logo system that helps
consumers make healthier food choices and stimulates product reformulation.
The subject of this report is a comparison between the strategies adopted
in European Union and in Latin America regarding food labeling aimed at
improving its role in fighting obesity, in the perspective to urge a reflection
about if and how the food labeling can be regulated in order to create conditions
that allow people to lead healthier lives.
