A MEXICAN state which guzzles more coke than anywhere in the world is facing a “catastrophic” health crisis, doctors have warned.
It is much easier to find a bottle of coke than it is water in Chiapas – and it’s just as cheap.
In Chiapas’ main town of San Cristobal de las Casas, Type 2 diabetes is rife, six-month-old babies drink coke instead of milk and some locals pray to empty bottles on shrines.
For decades Coca Cola has been a central feature of many rituals – especially within indigenous communities.
As the soft drink’s most loyal customers on the planet, they believe the soft drink feeds good spirits and helps the sick.
And some even believe it helps cure an unhappy household.
Speaking to The Sun, Dr Marcos Arana explained why many believe Coca Cola has healing powers.
“[Coke] is kept in glass bottles that maintain very high content of gas,” he said.
“The local population thinks that the gas that makes them belch is a healing effect.
“That’s why Coca Cola is used in ceremonies. It’s used in the temples.”
But this belief is what is causing huge damage to the population, he says, with Type 2 diabetes established as a leading cause-of-death in the area.
Dr Arana said the “epidemic” of obesity and diabetes has “reached catastrophic dimensions”.
“One third of children and teenagers are overweight or obese at the national level,” he said.
“The same problem affects 7 in 10 adults.
“Nowadays most of the calorie intake of the pre-school children comes from processed foods, especially soft drinks, and 12 per cent from bottled beverages.
“Children are exposed to intensive advertising of unhealthy products, mainly pastries, soft drinks, and sweets.
“On average, each Mexican consumes around 160 litres of Coca Cola per year, which is huge consumption.
“Many babies, even before they are six months of age, start drinking Coca Cola. They are given Coca Cola bottles.
“They get addicted to these products from very early stages of life.”
With clean drinking water not widely available in homes, many turn to the soft drink for hydration.
Many babies, even before they are six months of age, start drinking Coca Cola
Dr Marcos Arana
A recent study in an indigenous community found that 15 per cent of children ages one or two regularly drank soft drinks.
Another figure found that a shocking 3 per cent of babies under six months regularly drank the fizzy pop too.
Other health issues from excessive sugar consumption includes tooth decay – which is rife amongst children.
Down most streets in the town, visitors see the infamous red signs dotted everywhere.
Numerous red vans and trucks ship in huge containers of the drink, and fridges stocked with Coca Cola sit outside corner shops.
Some of the packaging has even been used as building materials.
Coca Cola also features at any celebration – including weddings and births.
Pascuala, a traditional healer from El Pinar, told The Guardian: “Coca-Cola is sweet, so the spirits will appreciate it, and it also has certain healing properties.”
In 2019, it was found that each resident of the southern state drank more than a whopping 800 litres of Coke in a year.
This is the same as 3,000 250ml cups a year.
They get addicted to these products from very early stages of life
Dr Marcos Arana
Despite efforts and advice from health professionals, locals struggle to give up the fizzy drink, doctor and medical anthropologist Jaime Paige explained.
He previously described the situation as a “tragedy”.
He said: “They don’t want to stop drinking Coca Cola because they’re really addicted to it.
“People are addicted to Coca Cola… it is now part of everyday meals. The big meal always has Coca Cola.
“Instead of giving milk to the babies, they give them Coca Cola.
“It’s a really big problem.”
When asked if there was any way to control the crisis unfolding in Chiapas, Dr Page thinks it is currently a lost cause.
He continued: “I think that, at this moment, it’s an impossible matter.”
Vicente Vaqueiros, 33, a doctor at a clinic in San Juan Chamula, told New York Times: “You see the kids drinking Coke and not water.
“Diabetes is hitting the adults, but it’s going to be the kids next. It’s going to overwhelm us.”
Coca Cola have been approached for comment.
