The impact of marketing practices and its regulation policies on childhood obesity. Opinions of stakeholders in Spain

The aim of this study was to identify Spanish stakeholders’ views on the relationship between childhood obesity and the marketing and advertising of food and beverages aimed at children in Spain, as well as on the corresponding of regulations. We performed a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with Stakeholders/Key Informants (KI) from 13 organisations: experts (2), consumer advocates (1), public health advocates (2), food manufacturers (2), advertising advocates (1), government representatives (1), child/family/school advocates (2) and media (1). The variables studied were Prevalence of childhood obesity and its relationship to marketing/advertising and Regulation of marketing. In order to identify the most relevant arguments (pearls) in the discourses, a blind independent analysis by four members of the research team was performed. We found that the prevalence of childhood obesity was perceived to be higher than the European average. Self-regulation was identified as the main form of marketing control. Only food manufacturers and advertising agencies considered voluntary action and supervisory procedures to be effective. The other stakeholders advocated state control through legislation and non-state actions such as external assessment and sanctions. Despite the divergence of opinion between stakeholders, there was agreement on the need to improve supervision and to ensure compliance with current self-regulatory codes in Spain.

La lucha por la tierra en la Huasteca Potosina (México): de peones a patrones

El presente trabajo consiste en un análisis acerca de las luchas por la tierra que se han venido produciendo en la región mexicana de la Huasteca Potosina, principalmente a raíz de la puesta en marcha del proyecto Pujal-Coy en 1973, cuando ocurre una transformación espacial que provoca toda una serie de conflictos por la apropiación del territorio a manos de nuevos pobladores frente a las instancias de gobierno encargadas del reparto agrario. Este proceso aparecerá marcado por la transformación del estatus socioeconómico de un importante colectivo en el momento en el que se convierten en propietarios de tierras. La metodología desarrollada es de carácter interdisciplinar al combinar el análisis geopolítico a escala local, el trabajo etnográfico en comunidades rurales y la revisión histórica. El resultado de la investigación ha sido la comprensión de la lógica espacial que define a esta región de México a partir de las contradicciones entre las prácticas espaciales hegemónicas y los contra-espacios que las poblaciones locales construyen como alternativa a las primeras.