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Among the latest updates from AMBA-accredited schools is a groundbreaking policy tackling childhood obesity, why marketing managers need to rethink their approach to inclusivity in advertising and a new platform bringing together African commercial expertise to help shape global business strategy. Tim Banerjee Dhoul and Ellen Buchan report
STUDY DEMONSTRATES IMPACT OF LEGISLATION ON PROPENSITY TOWARDS CHILDHOOD OBESITY
SCHOOL : Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (UAI) Business School, Chile
Children in Chile have a lower probability of being overweight or obese since the introduction of a landmark rule, according to a study led by researchers at UAI Business School. The Chilean Food Labelling and Advertising Law introduced a swathe of restrictions, including front-of-package warning labels on products high in calories, sugar, sodium or saturated fat, as well as bans on sales in schools and advertising deemed to target children under the age of 14. In 2018, a New York Times article heralded it as “the world’s most ambitious attempt to remake a country’s food culture”. The study identified that children who started school after the law came into effect in 2016 were less likely to be overweight than children who started school before the legislation came into force. The results were most pronounced among children who had 18 months of exposure to the legislation, with a 2.85 per cent lower probability of excess weight recorded among girls and a 2.4 per cent lower probability among boys.
“While individual measures, such as taxes on sugary drinks, have been associated with improvements in health outcomes, this is the first study to plausibly demonstrate that a policy package can reduce the risk of childhood overweight and obesity at a national level,” declared Guillermo Paraje, study co-author and a full professor of economics at UAI. Nieves Valdés, UAI associate professor and study co-author explained that even small reductions in the risks of becoming overweight or obese “can generate significant long-term benefits”. Valdés elaborated that further measures introduced in 2018 and 2019 to tighten nutritional limits are likely to have “amplified” the law’s effects. Published in The Lancet , the findings make compelling reading for policymakers worldwide, as Paraje summarised succinctly. “They support mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labels, restrictions on unhealthy foods in schools and marketing bans as effective and practical strategies.” EB
8 Ambition • ISSUE 3 • 2026
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