The health guidelines, first published last fall, take a direct shot at salty and sweet processed products that have become a staple for generations of Mexican schoolchildren, such as sugary fruit drinks, packaged chips, artificial pork rinds, and soy-encased, chili-flavored peanuts, the AP reports. Announcing the ban had become law, the nation's Education Ministry posted on X: "Farewell, junk food!"

As more states propose or approve bans on junk food sales to minors, Mexico is seeing the tide turn against high-calorie snacks that experts say have given the country one of the highest rates of childhood obesity and an unusually young coronavirus death toll.

While Donald Trump was causing a stir by donning a McDonald’s uniform for the cameras and frying some fries, Mexico’s new Secretary of Public Education, Mario Delgado, announced the launch of a new nationwide program that is unlikely to be replicated north of the border any time soon. The goal of the program, titled “Vida Saludable” (Healthy Life), is to improve the nutrition and overall health of Mexican school children amid an epidemic of child obesity and diabetes.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A government-sponsored junk food ban in schools across Mexico took effect on Saturday, officials said, as the country tries to tackle on

Mexico says a government-sponsored junk food ban in schools has taken effect as the country tries to tackle one of the world’s worst obesity and diabetes epidemics. The health guidelines