Road to a Healthier Mexico: The influence of price signals, information, stress and consciousness on food choices

Samenvatting

This thesis identified viable strategies and limitations to reach healthy and sustainable diets in Mexico. Diet-related non-communicable diseases emerged in this country earlier than in most of the regions with a similar economic development.

This research determined that sizeable subsidies and taxes are insufficient to reach sustainable healthy diets at national level by 2050. The full attainment of such diets requires substantial changes on the consumer side. A research among adults in lower-income areas in the center of Mexico showed that there is substantial demand for healthier processed foods. A parallel research executed in the same areas revealed that economic preoccupations have a negative impact on the demand for such foods.

Furthermore, a school intervention in the south of Mexico discovered that meditation is an effective strategy to improve food choices among children. The latter result is explained by reduced levels of stress, which was more evident in lower-income contexts.