24 thousand Mexicans die every year from the consumption of Coca Cola

The high consumption of sugary drinks has contributed significantly to the development of diabetes in Mexicans, warned the Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria this day, recalling that in the country around 24 thousand people die every year due to the intake of this type of
products.

In the framework of World Health Day, the Alliance, made up of civic groups, social organizations and professionals in the field, said that in Mexico, diabetes is a public health problem that requires urgent attention.

He also said that currently, more than 10 million adults live with the disease, while estimates say that one in three will develop this problem throughout his life. This Tuesday members of that group made a protest on the side of the Estela de Luz where they placed
an inflatable in the shape of a can of soda with the legend “diabetes”.

With this act, the activists demanded that the health authorities take urgent measures to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks in Mexico. “Diabetes tends to diminish the quality of life of people, generates high costs for the treatment of the disease, decreases
productivity and causes premature deaths, in fact, it has been estimated that it reduces life expectancy between five and 10 years”, said the civic group.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this day that the number of people with diabetes in the world has quadrupled between 1980 and 2014, to 422 million cases in that last year.

The WHO explained in a report that according to the latest data, in 2012 high blood glucose levels were responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide, of which 1.5 million were directly caused by diabetes.

The escalation of the disease and taking into account that of the 3.7 million deaths, 40 percent had less than 70 years, has led WHO to launch the first global report on diabetes and to dedicate the World Health Day – which is celebrated on April 7 – to this disease to
raise awareness among the population.

The report also warns that the prevalence of diabetes has grown in the last three decades, especially in low and middle-income countries. Regarding the prevalence of diabetes, he said that between 1980 and 2014 it has gone from 4.7 to 8.5 percent, a period in which cases increased or did not decrease in all countries of the world.

Therefore, the civil association stressed the importance for Mexico that the health authorities strengthen measures to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks among the population as it is a preventive action and therefore “cost-effective”.

I suggest that in order to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks, it is necessary to have a frontal warning label such as the one implemented in Chile or Ecuador to report whether a beverage is low, medium or high in added sugars. He also expressed the urgency of the State to monitor compliance with the general guidelines for sale and distribution of food and beverages in schools, in addition to requesting a regulation on the advertising of these products aimed at minors.

Source: argumentopolitico

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