Mexico's new food labeling rules were supposed to help people in a country with one of the highest obesity rates in the western hemisphere.  But critics and health advocates say the labels may actually encourage the public to consume obscenely high levels of sugar.

The labels are based on the premise that average acceptable daily consumption of sugar is about 360 calories, equivalent to about 90 grams of sugar.  Problem is, the United Nations World Health Organization recommends that peoples’ sugar intake be as little as 100 calories or about 25 grams per day – less than a third of what Mexico’s new food labels assume.

“This is terrible,” said Alejandro Calvillo, head of the Consumer Power activist group, “Because some people are going to see this label, and they’re going to say, ‘well, I’ll drink this Coca Cola, because it is 70 percent of my sugar requirement, and I can drink another 6 ½-ounce one, to get 100 percent of what they recommend I get of sugar.’ ”

And it’s not just sodas, it applies to cereals, biscuits, and other treats.

About a third of Mexican adults are obese, according to the US Food and Agriculture Organization.  That’s even worse than Mexico’s northern neighbor, the United States of McDona—I mean, America.  The problem is pretty simple, too many fatty foods and sugary sodas. 

The government agency responsible for the new food labels has not commented.