Brazil stops selling sodas in elementary schools

World Today

Three of Brazil’s biggest beverage producers – Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Ambev – announced earlier in the year that from the second half of 2016 on, they would stop distribution of soft drinks to schools where most of the children are under 12, in a voluntary drive against childhood obesity and to promote their healthier lines of beverages.

CCTV America’s Paulo Cabral reports.

According to Brazil’s Health Ministry, the latest obesity figures from 2009 show that about one-third of the country’s children and teenagers are overweight.

Childhood obesity is a growing problem in Brazil. Doctors and nutrition experts say controlling children’s access to food and drinks at school is a step in the right direction but it will only work if families also understand the importance of healthy eating at home. Some hope that kids will also help to educate their parents.