Chile's Food Labeling Law Linked to Reduced Childhood Obesity Risk

A study published in The Lancet provides evidence that Chile's Food Labelling and Advertising Law (FLAL), implemented in 2016, reduced the risk of overweight or obesity among schoolchildren aged four to six.

Key Findings

The study analyzed national data on over 300,000 schoolchildren in Chile, comparing weight outcomes before and after the first phase of FLAL.

After 18 months of Phase 1, girls had a 2.9% lower risk of overweight or obesity (a reduction of 1.4 percentage points from pre-FLAL rate of 47.7%).

Boys had a 2.4% lower risk (a reduction of 1.2 percentage points from pre-FLAL rate of 52%).

Notably, positive effects emerged quickly:

After only six months, girls showed a 1.9% lower risk (0.9 percentage point reduction) and boys a 2.2% lower risk (1.2 percentage point reduction).

Background

Chile has high rates of childhood overweight and obesity. FLAL targets foods high in sugars, saturated fats, salt, or calories through three core measures:

• Mandatory front-of-package warning labels (black octagons)
• Restrictions on sale in schools
• Limits on marketing to children

Phases 2 and 3 of the law (2018, 2019) set stricter limits but did not affect this study's results.

Expert Commentary

Prof. Guillermo Paraje (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez) stated that the results provide evidence supporting mandatory warning labels, school restrictions, and marketing bans as effective tools against childhood obesity.

Dr Nieves Valdes (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez) noted that even modest weight reductions may bring long-term health benefits.

In a linked Comment, Prof Simone Pettigrew and Dr Daisy Coyle (The George Institute) said the research strengthens the case for comprehensive, integrated policy strategies.

Limitations

The researchers noted that plausible causality relies on an untestable assumption about trends, and weight data collected by school staff may be less precise than in primary care settings.