User:Nzahid/sandbox

UCSF

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UC BERKELEY

Area:
1. Effects of NAFTA on Mexico 2. Obesity in Mexico

Sector:
1. nutrition transition 2. ethical consumerism

Nutrition Transition
The sentence structure in the introduction causes the information to be confusing. I think it would be more worthwhile to make the information more direct. The aspect about "energy expenditure" makes the concept seem scientific and more abstract than it needs to be. The "Historical framework" section is insightful but could use more clear organization. At one point it lists patterns associated with the nutrition transition in paragraph form but I think this would be more easily understood as a list. There is a lot of repetitiveness between the "economic factors" and "lifestyle changes" sections. I question the validity of the statement in the "lifestyle changes" section: "Diets rich in legumes, other vegetables, and coarse grains are disappearing in all regions and countries" The article mentions specifically obesity has a result of the nutrition transition but I think it would prove beneficial to discuss (to some extent) the double burden of malnutrition (I would need to do more research on this). (disclaimer - it actually discusses it in the "Health outcomes section") re: the "Dual burden of disease" section heavily explains the "obesity" aspect but not so much the "malnutrition" aspect. I think it would be more worthwhile if this section was "Dual burden of malnutrition" with a link to a Wiki page that discusses the double burden of disease as a whole. The "biopsychosocial forces" is a really great start but could be further developed and better organized. The "economic impact" does not seem to explain the economic impact. It's more so a summary of everything. I found the "Implications for policy" section to be insightful but I think it could be further developed to show existing examples of policy implementation either in this section or the case studies section. The case studies section needs to be elaborated.

There is not much activity on the talk page. It seems like this WikiPage is generally underdeveloped and requires more work. The article is rated as C-Class and of Mid-importance and is within the scope of WikiProject Medicine. How does this scope get decided? I would think it would be more in the public health realm especially because it goes hand in hand with the epidemiological transition.

What is the purpose of the "Implications of Policy" section and the "Case Studies" section? The implications for policy section has good but broad information all jam-packed into one paragraph The case studies section is useless.

The Effects of NAFTA on Mexico
This article is a new article, from another student. It has the potential to be a really great addition to Wiki but the article is underdeveloped. I think the organization is clear but it could go more in depth into each of its subheadings and requires more academic sources. I think the author did a good job of organizing the page in a clear, logical way. I feel I do not have the right background to properly critique this article - a lot of the economic jargon went over my head but perhaps this should be addressed since it is meant to be for the general public. As noted, for the amount of text, there are a lack of references. A lot of the sources come from newspaper articles and it would be more worthwhile if they came from academic sources. It would also be beneficial to discuss health implications (my intentions) and it may be useful to connect this page to similar pages related to trade liberalization.

The talk page is essentially just the outline of the page with feedback from the author's classmates and teacher. There does not seem to be other discussion. The page has no rating from Wikipedia (not a formally recognized page) and my contribution may help in pushing this towards a recognized, rated page.

Nutrition Transition
nutrition transition

(Restructuring the "Implications for policy" section):

Countries worldwide have made several, varied efforts to address the consequences of the nutrition transition. These policies target the food environment, governance, food system, or education and can be generally classified into the following categories:

a) Public Nutrition Education Policy

Nutrition education intends to facilitate healthy behavioral changes, at the individual level. Dietary guidelines, specifically, promote public awareness of nutritional needs. Over 60 countries in the Global North and South have established national dietary guidelines.

b) Nutrition Labeling Policy

Nutrition labeling for food packages and in restaurants may encourage consumers to choose healthier foods. Nutrition labeling has been emphasized as important in influencing food choices and potentially reducing the intake of fat, sugar, and sodium.

c) School-focused Policy

Schools are viewed as a primary target of intervention for implementing nutrition-related policies. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to exposure to unhealthy foods before, during, and after school. Children are more susceptible to developing early obesity and are likely to remain obese throughout adulthood. School policies are varied and specific to the political, economic, and social climates of a place. They can focus on increasing nutritional standards, promoting active lifestyles, regulating school meal programs, and banning the sale of certain foods and beverages in and around schools.

d) Food Marketing Regulation

Food marketing, via several media outlets - television, the Internet, packaging, popular culture - has been an effective strategy for influencing and changing consumers' food choices, particularly among children. Several studies have indicated the association between exposure to food advertising and food choices and beliefs. The adverse impact of advertising has led to support for government level regulation of food marketing. Countries have implemented voluntary or mandatory restrictions on advertisements of unhealthy food products. Food companies are also urged to implement responsible food marketing strategies. Efforts by corporations should reverse drivers of food consumption, including convenience, low cost, good taste, and nutritional knowledge. Recommendations include downsizing packaging, reducing serving sizes, and recreating formulas to decrease caloric content.

e) Taxation

Stemming from the success of taxation of tobacco products in reducing tobacco usage, policy makers and researchers have adopted a parallel approach for reducing obesity (cite). The WHO supported economic policies as a method of influencing food prices and promoting healthy eating in public spaces (cite, 2008). Tax policies, in the form of sin taxes or Pigovian taxes, generally target unhealthy food and drink products, including the "fat tax," "junk food tax," and of particular popularity, the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Taxation is intended to combat obesity by increasing the price of SSBs and unhealthy foods and in turn, reducing their consumption, as well as generating revenue that may be used towards obesity prevention programs or promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption. However, the effectiveness of taxation remains under scrutiny - economists argue that taxes are inefficient for combating obesity and can result in greater losses for consumers.

The literature suggests that it may be ideal for governments to adopt a holistic policy approach to address the obesity epidemic, given the associated social conditions. "Policy package" recommendations have been a supported framework for preventing obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases worldwide because they are adaptable to country-specific circumstances. For example, the NOURISHING framework summarizes key avenues for action and policy but is flexible to suit a range of national and local contexts. The World Health Organization has called for governments to have multi-faceted interventions, focusing on food security, food safety, healthy lifestyle, and nutrition. Given the scope of the pandemic but the diverse place-based trends and risk factors, appropriate and adequate intervention calls for policy change across multiple levels - population and individual - and the need for international collaboration. At the same time, evaluations of programs and initiatives on their impact on obesity is necessary to both enhance efficacy of existing interventions and provide a foundation for future interventions.

Effects of Nafta on Mexico
Effects of NAFTA on Mexico

(Adding a new section titled: Implications for Health):

NAFTA has health implications for the Mexican population. Specifically, the leniency towards Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) along with the limitation on government intervention have acted as catalysts for the nutrition transition. NAFTA's liberal investment rules accelerated the FDI from the United States into Mexican food processing, resulting in a rise of imports yet maintaining a limited growth of GDP. In 1987, US companies invested $210 million per year in the Mexican food processing industry; this number has increased to $5.3 billion per year as of 1998 (a 25-fold increase). Three-quarters of FDI was delegated to the production of processed foods - sales of process foods expanded by 5-10% per year between 1995 and 2003. NAFTA also facilitated multi-national alliances with existing domestic companies, leading to an explosive growth of chain supermarkets and convenience stores from fewer than 700 pre-NAFTA to 3,850 in 1997 and 5,729 in 2004. A decade of NAFTA saw food retail in Mexico dominated by supermarkets, discounters, and convenience stores (55%) while smaller "tiendas" were losing business. "Tiendas," however, were predominate in small towns but have been outlets for large transnational and domestic food companies to sell and promote their food products to poorer populations. As a result, we see a rise in processed foods in both urban and rural settings.

The United States' increasing presence in the Mexican food system, with the increase in exports of corn, soybeans, sugar, snack foods, and meat products, has contributed to altering the food system from agricultural to industrial. NAFTA trade policies and market liberalization have transformed the food system in Mexico to one that is dominated by the intake of processed foods, sugar, salt, meat, and fat. This shift has, in turn, led to detrimental health consequences - diseases of urbanization including obesity and other nutrition-related NCDs.

Nutrition transition
For the Wiki article titled "Nutrition Transition" I reorganized the "Implications for Policy" section by adding a brief overview/introduction followed by 6 subsections with 8 new citations.

Effects of NAFTA on Mexico
For the Wiki article titled "Effects of NAFTA on Mexico" I created a new section titled "Implications for Health" and added two paragraphs (a total of 12 sentences) with 7 new citations.

Nutrition Transition
==== Food Policy Approaches to Obesity Prevention: An International Perspective ==== This literature review explores 21 country cases of recent food policy interventions to combat obesity. I will use this paper as my primary source to highlight examples of different policy measures in the Global South.

==== A food policy package for healthy diets and the prevention of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases: the NOURISHING framework ==== This paper offers a "policy package" framework for preventing obesity and diet-related NCDs worldwide that is intended to be adaptable to country-specific circumstances. I will include this "package" concept as an example of recommendations to use multiple policies rather than a singular approach as well as an approach for adopting food policies that promote healthy diets.

==== Global obesity: trends, risk factors and policy implications ==== This article explores the unintended consequences of globalization - dietary changes, obesogenic environments, and the double burden of disease - and offers prevention strategies to combat the consequences. I will use the information from this article to underscore the recommendation to implement policy changes across multiple levels - high-level to individual level - and the need for international collaboration.

==== The WHO's CRASH DIET: The role of governments in the international obesity crisis and why the global strategy falls short ==== The article discusses the World Health Organization's call for governments to intervene in the international obesity crisis and to adopt new strategies, as the current ones are limited. I will use this article to present the WHO's suggestions, specifically that governments should take integrated approaches to addressing the obesity crisis, focusing on food security, food safety, healthy lifestyle, and nutrition.

==== Should health policy focus on physical activity rather than obesity? ==== This journal article weights the pros and cons of solely focusing on physical activity policy to reduce weight in a population. I will use this article to discuss the importance of a holistic, social determinants-based approach to addressing obesity and to emphasize the need for programs that focus on the "social" conditions associated with obesity (i.e. urban planning, transportation, green space, food security, etc).

==== Framing Obesity in Economic Theory and Policy ==== This article explores the rationalist lens by which the rise of obesity can be explained. I will use this article to introduce the concept that gaps in information can explain the frequency of obesity and discuss the limitations of a taxation, specifically with regards to a "fat tax."

==== NOW AND THEN: The Global Nutrition Transition: The Pandemic of Obesity in Developing Countries ==== This article attempts to trace the rise in obesity worldwide while also identifying policy measures beginning to take form. The article identifies the key factors associated with increased obesity to be related to the interplay between our innate biology and technology. I will use this article to call to attention the importance of evaluation methods of obesity interventions and programs to ensure the enhanced efficacy of existing and future initiatives.

==== Food Marketing and Obesity in Developing Countries: Analysis, Ethics, and Public Policy ==== This article both discusses a model of development processes, biological factors, and food marketing practices that have contributed to the rise in obesity as well as the ethical considerations of food marketing. I will use this article to discuss the corporate responsibility of food companies to implement responsible marketing strategies.

The Effects of NAFTA on Mexico
==== NAFTA Largely Responsible for the Obesity Epidemic in Mexico ==== This article argues that Mexico's obesity epidemic is largely a result of globalization trends which can be attributed to the policies implemented by NAFTA. I will use this article directly to explain how NAFTA's lenient Foreign Direct Investment provisions amplified the nutrition transition and changing food environment in Mexico, which in turn contributed to the obesity epidemic.

==== Exporting obesity: US farm and trade policy and the transformation of the Mexican consumer food environment ==== This article explores the ways in which the US has, directly and indirectly, exported increasing amounts of high-starch, high-sugar products during the 14-year NAFTA period of 1994 to 2008. I will use the evidence in this article to explain how trade during NAFTA has transformed an agricultural food system to an industrialized food system.

==== Uneven dietary development: linking the policies and processes of globalization with the nutrition transition, obesity and diet-related chronic diseases ==== This article explores the ways in which globalization, specifically the integration of the global marketplace, is a central mechanism in affecting specific diet patterns. It underscores three major processes of market integration - trade and production of agricultural goods, foreign direct investments, and global food advertising and marketing. The article outlines country case studies, including that of Mexico, and I will use the information specific to Mexico to outline the results of foreign direct investment in facilitating consumption.

==== Food consumption trends and drivers ==== This paper discusses the food consumption trends and drivers observed across countries worldwide. It highlights the prominent drivers of the changing food consumption patterns (i.e. socio-economic, urbanization, trade policies) and the consequences of the rapid dietary change (i.e. health, diseases of urbanization and affluence, increases in social inequity). I will use this paper to explain that trade liberalization has enabled a greater availability and affordability of high processed, nutrient-poor foods in developing countries and how transnational food corporations contribute to the rise of the fast-food market in developing countries.

The WHO's CRASH DIET: The role of governments in the international obesity crisis and why the global strategy falls short
The article discusses the World Health Organization's call for governments to intervene in the international obesity crisis and to adopt new strategies, as the current ones are limited. I will use this paper to reiterate the notion that the "industrialized world's increase importation of goods may be one of the roots of the [obesity] epidemic" (63).

==== Trade Liberalization in Mexico in the 1980s: Concepts, Measures and Short Run Effects ==== This article discusses the specific experiences of Mexico with regards to trade liberalization and focus on both the alternative interpretations as well as short-term consequences of trade liberalization. I will use this article to introduce the fact that Mexico experienced an increase in imports but a limited growth of GDP, alluding to the pitfalls of trade liberalization in adversely affecting the Mexican economy.

==== A Nasty, Nafta-Related Surprise: Mexico's Soaring Obesity ==== This non-scholarly article explores the specific relationship between free trade and the obesity epidemic in Mexico through anecdotes and a brief free trade analysis. I will use this article to reemphasize the role of NAFTA in accelerating distribution of low-nutrient, highly processed foods.

Positives:

 * Your citations are properly formatted and you have a good amount of them.
 * Your organizational breakdown of sections into different policies is brilliant and makes it easier to read.
 * The language is very direct and neutral.
 * In your "Nutrition Labeling Policy" you do a good job of describing what it is but it can be developed see "Deltas" for more suggestions.
 * I appreciate all the facts and information, but see "Deltas" for suggestions on how to build on these.
 * The statistics for the "Effects of NAFTA on Mexico" are great!
 * Overall you are doing great, just develop these more and you'll have an amazing article!

Deltas:
Best of luck,
 * You can more content form you citations to develop your articles more Or, you can focus on a few really good citations and develop your content that way.
 * Consider wording this sentence "These policies target the food environment, governance, food system, or education and can be generally classified into the following categories" into two sentences because it sounds a little confusing. "These policies target the food environment, governance, food system, and/ or education. They can be generally classified into the following categories..."
 * Change the order of the sentence, "Nutrition education intends to facilitate healthy behavioral changes, at the individual level" to At the individual level, nutrition education intends to facilitate healthy behavioral changes."
 * In this sentence "Nutrition labeling has been emphasized as important in influencing food choices and potentially reducing the intake of fat, sugar, and sodium" add a comma after choices as they can be two independent clauses
 * In your "Nutrition Labeling Policy" you can expand at talk about the history of how it became to be "emphasized as important in influencing food choices ." Were there any social movements/literature/media that led to this?
 * You have strong points, but you can qualify them more with statistics to make your argument more strong in your Nutrition Transition section.
 * "Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to exposure to unhealthy foods before, during, and after school." For this sentence you can give an example for each just to be more specific.
 * Expand on what "promoting active lifestyles" looks like in School-focused Policy.
 * In "Food Marketing Regulation," you can add what these "voluntary or mandatory restrictions" are. What specific polices/law have been implemented? Add their names and descriptions
 * .In "Taxation," qualify the success of taxation on tobacco. Are there statistic which show this?
 * .In "Taxation," what policies do the WHO supports, be more specific of these economic policies. Name a few, the bill name,and their purpose. There is also the soda tax in Berkeley which is worthy of noting.
 * In "Effects of Nafta on Mexico" fully spell out what NAFTA stands for then use the acronym.
 * Translate what a "tienda" is.

Guadalupe Cervantes