PAHO Advances Anti-Obesity Push With School Health Guidelines

Mexico City held the International Congress on Obesity 2026, its first edition in the country, as 37% of Mexican adults live with obesity and the Pan American Health Organization and the Organization of American States launched regional school nutrition and physical activity guidelines. The event underscored pressure on Mexico's health, education, food, beverage, and pharmaceutical sectors to align with fiscal measures, front-of-package labeling, and GLP-1 therapy access. 

Mexico City is hosting the International Congress on Obesity 2026, the event's first edition in the country, bringing together researchers, clinicians, and policymakers from July 15 to 17 to discuss how public policy, school prevention, and integrated medical care can curb Mexico's obesity rates. The gathering coincides with the launch of new regional school health guidelines from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Organization of American States (OAS), adding fresh policy tools to a debate that already spans taxation, food labeling, and pharmaceutical access. 

In Mexico, 37% of adults live with obesity, a condition PAHO and Mexican researchers describe as chronic, progressive, and shaped by biological, environmental, social, and commercial factors rather than individual choice alone.

"These guidelines are grounded in a fundamental principle: health and education are inseparable," says Jesus Giacoman, Director of the Department of Human Development, Education, and Employment, OAS. Giacoman adds that promoting healthy eating and physical activity in schools also strengthens educational pathways, socio-emotional wellbeing, and learning opportunities for younger generations. 

The remarks accompanied the July 10 release of the Regional Guidelines on Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Policies in School Settings, known by the Spanish acronym PASAFE, which PAHO and the OAS designed with ministries of health and education across the Americas and presented in the context of the Mexico City congress.

The guidelines respond to a regional trend that mirrors Mexico's own numbers. More than 30% of children and adolescents between five and 19 years old in the Americas live with overweight, and obesity prevalence in that age group has tripled since 1990, rising from 5.6% to 16.9% in 2022. Left unaddressed, the rate could reach 19.7% by 2030, according to PAHO. More than 80% of adolescents also fail to meet the World Health Organization recommendation of 60 minutes of daily physical activity, a gap linked to rising rates of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and mental health disorders. 

Vanessa Garcia, Chief of the Risk Factors Unit, PAHO's Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, says schools have enormous potential to shape lifelong habits, offering countries evidence-based tools to build healthier environments.

For Mexico, the school-based framework adds to a policy toolkit already in motion. Simon Barquera, President, World Obesity Federation points to the country's sugar-sweetened beverage tax, front-of-package warning labeling, and National Medical Care Protocol as measures that can reduce excess weight when applied consistently and paired with other interventions. Barquera cites a seven-gram reduction in added sugar per serving of soft drinks, equivalent to 32 calories, alongside declining purchases linked to taxation and communication campaigns. 

The Ministry of Health formalized this direction earlier in 2026 through its Overweight and Obesity Deceleration Strategy, unveiled on World Obesity Day, which raised the excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages from MX$1 to MX$3.1 per liter as part of the 2026 economic package and prompted beverage makers including PepsiCo and GEPP to reformulate products, reports .

Beyond fiscal policy, the congress placed weight on how obesity is discussed and treated. An Ipsos study presented ahead of the event found that nine of ten Mexicans living with obesity have sought medical care, yet 77% believe the condition depends solely on personal decisions, a gap researchers say perpetuates stigma. "It is necessary to keep strengthening knowledge about the disease, as well as promoting an approach based on scientific evidence and free of stigma," says Iñaki Villanueva, Medical Director for Obesity, Lilly Mexico.

Pharmacological treatment also drew scrutiny. Internet searches for weight-loss medications, including GLP-1 receptor agonists, increased 25-fold over the past decade, according to research presented at the congress, while interest in diet- and exercise-based interventions remained flat. Barquera says these therapies can help in specific cases but require infrastructure, trained medical staff, and behavioral follow-up rather than functioning as a standalone solution. 

GLP-1 access is expanding through new licensing and distribution agreements in Mexico, even as the World Health Organization endorses the therapies while cautioning that supply constraints could limit uptake among eligible patients.

The congress also addressed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD, which ISGlobal Barcelona's Jeffrey Lazarus linked to Mexico's combination of obesity, type 2 diabetes, sedentary lifestyles, and ultra-processed food consumption. More than 40% of Mexican adults live with MASLD, according to data presented at the event, adding pressure to a health system managing rising chronic disease costs. 

Research from Mexico's National Institute of Genomic Medicine, has identified variants that may increase Mexican populations' susceptibility to obesity when combined with environmental factors, reinforcing the case for prevention strategies tailored to local conditions.

Officials framed the congress as a starting point rather than a conclusion. The PASAFE guidelines call for multisectoral teams, diagnostics, and monitoring at the country level, while Mexico's tax, labeling, and clinical protocols remain subject to consistent enforcement. For businesses in food, beverage, education, and healthcare, the convergence of new regional standards and domestic fiscal policy signals continued regulatory attention to product reformulation, school procurement, and obesity-related care through the remainder of the decade.