Globalization and Children’s Diets: The Case of Yucatan, Mexico
Globalization is an economic force to bring about a closer integration of national economies. Globalization also has effects on human biology. Food globalization brings about nutritional transitions, the most common being a shift from a locally grown diet with minimally refined foods, to the modern diet of highly processed foods, high in saturated fat, animal products and sugar, and low in fiber. Food globalization also changes the social, economic, and political ecology and increases poverty for some. This chapter examines the influences of food globalization using the Maya children of Yucatan as a case study. Yucatecan Maya children often live in poverty and suffer the dual-burden of stunting (low height-for-age) and overweight/obesity. This may be due to eating processed foods with insufficient essential nutrients for normal metabolism and growth, to an energy imbalance related to sedentary behavior, to social and emotional stress of poverty that inhibit height growth, or some combination of these. The case of the Yucatan is not isolated, and we must come to terms with food globalization if we are to translate research into better child health and well-being.
