General guidelines established for the sale or distribution of food and beverages consumed in basic education establishments: critical analysis of the AGREEMENT

This paper offers a critical analysis of the AGREEMENT under which the general guidelines to sell or distribute foods and beverages in elementary school cafeterias have been established. This is a legal instrument established by the Ministries of Public Education and Health to regulate that foods and beverages sold and consumed in school cafeterias will be healthful, in order to reduce the high rates of overweight and obesity in school-aged children. All of the chapters in the AGREEMENT have been analyzed to determine their pertinence to overcome the problem of overweight and obesity: legal aspects, physical characteristics of the cafeteria, and the committees to determine the functions of the cafeteria. Furthermore, analyses have been made of the scientific terms where the nutritional composition of the healthy products is defined. It is expected that foods and beverages sold in school cafeterias will be changed to healthful items over the next 3 years. A list of statements considered as strengths or weaknesses is presented as well as a table that includes several actions that could be undertaken by teachers, parents, students and school authorities within the school and the surroundings to reduce the problem of overweight and obesity in children.