Wellbeing
challenges

How weight control

and excess sugar

impact consumption

Latent concerns

Several factors affect the perception of health and wellbeing among Latin Americans. The region shows higher levels of concern in almost all health categories compared with the global average.

Physical, mental, and even aesthetic issues intertwine, forming a complex and multifactorial landscape. Although each concern requires specific responses, it is important to recognise that they influence one another.

Despite this diversity of themes, two issues concentrate consumers’ attention and define new behavioural patterns: weight and sugar.

Weight as a mirror of habits

Concern with weight is especially strong among the middle (47%) and upper (49%) classes, and stands out mainly among those aged between 36 and 55 (50%). The topic reflects both aesthetic aspirations and health care — and, more deeply, a change in lifestyle.

In recent years, healthy practices have been declining among the global population. In Latin America, actions such as limiting screen time have dropped from 44% in 2024 to 38% this year, and health check-ups have decreased from 52% to 45%. On the other hand, those who exercise regularly show more positive results: 47% have reduced their screen time, and 67% keep up their routine check-ups.

The debate around weight has also taken on new dimensions with the advance of GLP-1 injectable weight-loss drugs, widely known by their brand names (e.g. Ozempic and Mounjaro). Currently, 26% of Latin American households (equivalent to 170 million households) have already heard of these products, and 11% (74 million households) claim they use or are considering using them. Interest is particularly higher in Ecuador (45% above the regional average), in Mexico (+27%), and in Central America (+9%).

Excess sugar

Sugar remains a sensitive and highly relevant topic for wellbeing. In our new segmentation, we already see most of the region’s population striving to reduce their sugar intake, with eight in ten individuals seeking lower-sugar-content foods and drinks — although the trigger varies from country to country.

Furthermore, each country shows a different response to this behaviour, opening up numerous strategic possibilities for brands and retailers in light of this situation.

Despite the growing awareness, some barriers prevent broader adherence: 28% of Latin Americans find the taste too different, 28% say that sugar-free options are more expensive, and 25% point to their lack of habit as the main block.

When asked what a sugar-free product must have to become appealing, the answers are clear: natural ingredients (46%), a flavour similar to the original (30%), and transparent nutritional information (24%).

This change in mindset is already reflected in consumer goods categories. The sugar-free soft drinks market is a telling example. In five years, “sugar-free” versions have gained 30 million new buyers, increasing from 39.6% in 2019 to 63% in 2025. They have been driven, in part, by the adoption of warning labels in several countries across the region.