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 That was two years ago. She still remembers the pain in her chest.
Then she was also diagnosed with diabetes. Daniela knows the disease
well: she watched eight family members die from its complications.
"The doctor told me that I'll die, that I'll not even turn 18 years
old," she said at her home in Texcoco, in the outskirts of the
Mexican capital. Now Daniela is 14 years old and weighs 81 kilos.
Reuters was unable to contact the doctor, who treated Daniela at a
different facility previously, but her current caseworker confirmed
Daniela's account.
"Instead of losing weight, I put on more," she said.
Reuters recreated a table that shows what she would eat in a typical
day and a nutritionist at her clinic calculated about 6,600
calories.
Daniela is one of about 150 girls and boys treated by doctors,
nutritionists and psychologists at the Hospital Infantil de Mexico
Federico Gomez in Mexico City over the past 12 years.
The girl and seven others agreed to speak to Reuters in the presence
of their mothers and a healthcare worker about their struggles to
control health problems and lose weight.
Reuters also spoke to four adults about their long-term struggles
with obesity since childhood, one of whom has since died of
complications from diabetes.
Reuters agreed not to publish their surnames or pictures that would
reveal their identities because almost all are minors and some,
including Daniela, are considered vulnerable by the clinic.
Despite efforts to limit sales of junk food to children and tax
consumption of sugary drinks, Mexico's diabetes problem is
worsening.
In two years, the proportion of the population suffering from the
disease jumped a full percentage point to 10.3% - one of the highest
rates in the world - as more than a decade of poor eating habits
started to be reflected in government statistics.
"It's a diabetes time bomb," said Barry Popkin, a professor at
Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North
Carolina, who has studied obesity and other nutrition-related
diseases, and more recently the relationship with COVID-19.
During the pandemic, the issue has taken on urgency https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-mexico-diabetes/with-obesity-and-diabetes-epidemic-mexico-braces-for-coronavirus-idUSKBN21D3I5.
Popkin said it was clear nutrition-related diseases - obesity,
diabetes, hypertension and others - were stoking COVID-19 mortality
rates in Mexico, which are among the world's highest.
Mexico's mortality data shows that, of the over 230,000 people who
died of COVID-19 as of June 15, around 45% had hypertension, 37% had
diabetes and 22% were obese.
TEMPTATION EVERYWHERE
High calorie temptation is everywhere, not least Daniela's mother's
corner store, which offers treats that sell even in deprived
neighborhoods: soda, potato chips and packaged cakes.
Daniela, who also has a kidney problem, said she follows her
exercise and nutrition plans as much as possible - and she likes the
taste of some fruit and vegetables.
But her diabetes is hard to control and when her blood sugar
plummets, she then needs sweets to regulate it. "It gives me a lot
of anxiety and then I need something sweet."
Daniela's mother, Angelica, said she feared every day for her only
daughter's life. Both have received treatment by a psychologist.
"It's so hard because she's not getting better," Angelica said.
"She's getting worse."
[to top of second column] |
 Over 80% of Mexicans consume
soft drinks daily, a Mexican government
nutrition survey from 2018 showed. Over half of
teenagers eat packaged snacks, sweets or
desserts every day.
Betzabe Salgado, a nutritionist at the
children's hospital, said ingredients in
processed foods were "in a way addictive"
because they are more flavorsome as well as
cheap and widely available.
Scientific studies - including one by the
University of Michigan - have shown that
processed food, much of which is high-calorie,
may indeed have addictive potential.
More than half of Mexico's adult population
works informally. Parents often earn less than
the daily minimum wage of 144 pesos ($7) and
commute long hours, said Salgado, leaving them
no time, or money, to purchase and prepare
nutritious meals. "Eating habits
are bad," Salgado said.
DRASTIC MEASURES
Pricila had a gastric sleeve surgery, during which a part of the
stomach is removed, for weight loss at 16. Realization hit her when
aged 15 she weighed 113 kilos, equal to her father.
In a typical day, she would eat over 5,200 calories. Pricila, who
has a metabolic disease, said even with exercise and a nutrition
plan her weight loss had stalled, making her a candidate for the
surgery.
"When I tried to lose weight, there was temptation everywhere," she
said. Now 18, she weighs 83 kilos.
"It was a real feat, especially because I was so used to eating junk
food, sweets, all the time." Mexico's Senate in
February prohibited the sale of food with poor nutritional value and
high calorie content in and outside schools. Food also needs to be
labeled if it has high salt, sugar or fat content.
But the United States, European Union, Canada and Switzerland, home
to some of the world's largest food companies, publicly pressed
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-health/mexicos-new-warning-labels-on-junk-food-meet-supersized-opposition-from-u-s-eu-idUSKCN25802B
Mexico to delay the initiative, citing the COVID-19 pandemic "which
has placed significant pressure on the food and beverage industry."
 Five government officials, a lawyer and two advocacy groups told
Reuters industry lobby groups had stalled the initiatives.
Weighing 137 kilos aged 16, more than twice the recommended weight,
Carlos tested positive for COVID-19 in January and spent a month in
hospital, much of that in pediatric intensive care.
A borrowed oxygen tank stands in the middle of his living room while
a schedule stuck to the fridge marks appointments with the
nutritionist, lung specialist and COVID-19 tests.
Carlos, now 17 and in the same program as Daniela and Pricila, said
he started overeating when pressure intensified at school. Attempts
to change his eating habits repeatedly failed - he would typically
eat 5,850 calories.
"I woke up and realized that if I don't make a change, I'll always
be like this: I'll never mature; always have this body," Carlos
said. "Sometimes my body wants something sugary, but I say no."
(Text by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Pictures by Carlos Jasso; Editing by
Frank Jack Daniel, Daniel Flynn and Diane Craft)
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