Access pdf of this letter and the letters below here
Access this month's news story here
Access pdf of this month's commentary on The Food System here
Access pdf of November commentary here

Sir: The rise of junk food consumption, and of rates of obesity, are two sides of the same coin. Regulation of sales of such products is crucial in order to fight the obesity epidemic in Latin America and the rest of the world. What happened in Costa Rica, where in the best interest of children, the ministries of health and Education along with the constitutional court, stood up in front of food corporations, sets an important precedent and an example to be followed by other countries in the region.

Sir: Congratulations to Enrique Jacoby and his co-authors for this excellent analysis. It is gratifying to see that several Latin American countries have developed national policies aimed at restricting food marketing and promoting school food environments.

Unfortunately, this is not the case of Colombia whose situation is quite similar to that described by Fabio Gomes in Brazil. Since 2009, Colombian citizens have a law that makes a mandatory requirement to regulate food and drink product marketing in different mass media, but this has not been enforced due to the lack of political will of the national government. More social engagement is needed to advance in these initiatives in our region.

Please cite as: Valdes Pérez N, Gómez L. Regulation of school food. Half-time: Costa Rica 1, Colombia 0. [Letters] World Nutrition, December 2012, 3, 12, 592-593. Obtainable at www.wphna.org