A state of the Mexican Republic holds the world record for Coca-Cola consumption per person. We tell you what it is.
According to data from Yale University, Mexico is the largest consumer of soft drinks worldwide, with an average of 163 liters per person per year. According to the organization El Poder del Consumidor, Coca-Cola products represent more than 70% of the national consumption of bottled sugary drinks. But it is specifically a state of the country where Coca-Cola is drunk the most in the world.
According to a study by the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (Conacyt), Chiapas is the region of Mexico, America and the entire world that consumes the most Coca-Cola. This is despite the fact that the soft drink company recently announced that it would increase the price of its drinks as of August 17.
It was calculated that each resident of the state drinks an average of 821.25 liters of this soft drink per year. The average is 160 liters per capita in the rest of the Republic. This means that each person there drinks 661.25 liters more than other Mexicans. The figure is also five times higher than the rest of Mexico, and 32 times more than the world average.
“They have them on their table, at a party or ceremony. Sugary drinks, in recent years, occupy a leading place in the lives of Mexicans. Some of its consequences highlight that the risk of contracting diseases such as type 2 diabetes, overweight and obesity is increased, ”the report details.
“It is the epicenter of the epidemic of soft drink consumption,” said Dr. Marcos Arana, a researcher at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition to BBC Mundo.
Why do they drink so much Coca-Cola in Chiapas?
Arana pointed out that soft drinks are part of daily life in the state, especially in the Los Altos de Chiapas region, where the indigenous and rural population predominates and Coca-Cola has a bottling plant in the municipality of San Cristóbal de las Casas.
He assures that the inhabitants of the area usually have coffee for breakfast and take “two or three liters of Coca-Cola” to the field to drink with lunch. In addition to this, consumption begins from a very early age.
“To 3% of children under six months, their mothers give them Coca-Cola, at a time when they should only drink breast milk,” Arana pointed out in his conclusions on the CONACYT investigation, in which he participated in 2016. This data agrees with another cited in the Yale study, which estimates that 7 out of 10 children in rural communities eat breakfast with a soft drink.
The researcher affirms that among the causes of the excessive consumption of this drink in Chiapas is easy access and advertising.
“Coca-Cola is the most widely available product in Los Altos, one has to walk further to buy tortillas or anything else. The number of points of sale is excessive, without any control, and with prices reduced by up to 30%”, says the expert. “The availability and publicity of something so cheap is so great and omnipresent in Chiapas among vulnerable populations that they have created an addiction that is seen as a necessity.”
For his part, Jaime Page Pliego, doctor in Anthropology and leader of the study, detailed more reasons for the increase in consumption of Coca Cola in the state. He cites lax legislation towards soft drink companies and marketing campaigns in local languages. He also mentions the lack of access to quality drinking water in sufficient quantity for the inhabitants.
