Learning from Latin America: toward stronger regulation of unhealthy food marketing

Abstract

Childhood obesity in Latin America and the Caribbean continues to rise, driven in part by increased access to ultraprocessed products and pervasive unhealthy food marketing. For more than two decades, the World Health Organization has called on governments to regulate such practices. While prior research has focused largely on policy design and adoption, less attention has been given to implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, critical stages of the policy cycle. This study addresses this gap by examining experiences in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay. We report findings from the qualitative component of a mixed-methods study based on a descriptive qualitative design. Data were generated through semistructured interviews with 22 key informants from diverse institutional sectors and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Across all cases, implementation processes were shaped by sustained industry interference and, in some cases, political instability and broader systemic disruptions. Informants highlighted that countries’ capacity to withstand these pressures depended on two interrelated domains: governance arrangements and institutional capacity. Overall, the effectiveness and sustainability of unhealthy food marketing regulations depend on strong health governance, adequate institutional capacity, comprehensive regulatory frameworks, and exposure-based monitoring approaches that reduce regulatory ambiguity and strengthen child protection.