Dr. Simón Barquera is a Medical Doctor (MD, 1994) from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Mexico City, with a Master’s (1996) and PhD (2005) in Nutrition Epidemiology from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Boston.
Since May 2017, he has served as the Director of the Nutrition and Health Research Center at Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health (INSP), where he also leads the Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease research line (since 2015).
Dr. Barquera has been a co-investigator of the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Surveys (1999–2020) and has contributed significantly to the design, implementation, and evaluation of public health policies in Mexico. These include the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (2014), the front-of-pack warning label policy (2020), the Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Guidelines (2023), and the guidelines to restrict the sale of junk food in schools (2025), among others.
He has published over 330 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters and has been cited more than 35,000 times (Google Scholar, H-index: 70). He serves on multiple national and international expert committees, including the Mexican Ministry of Health's Chronic Diseases Advisory Board, the PAHO Expert Group on Sodium Reduction, the World Obesity Federation Policy and Prevention Committee, and is a fellow of The Obesity Society.
In recognition of his academic and policy work, he has received numerous awards and honors, including:
- Fred L. Soper Award for Excellence in Health Literature (PAHO, 2003)
- Tufts University Nutrition Impact Award (2016)
- UAM Distinguished Alumni Award (2016)
- Michael & Susan Dell Lectureship in Child Health, University of Texas–Austin (2017)
- 7th Alvan R. Feinstein Chair, UASLP (2018)
- 18th Carl J. Martinson Lectureship, University of Minnesota (2018)
- Research Merit Recognition, CCyTEM Morelos, Mexico (2020)
- National Merit Award “Dr. Gerardo Varela” in Public Health, General Health Council, Mexico (2020)
- Martin J. Formann Honorary Chair in Public Health Nutrition, awarded by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (2023)
He has been recognized as a National Researcher by the Mexican Council of Science and Technology, and is a member of both the National Academy of Medicine and the Mexican Academy of Sciences.
As of 2024, Dr. Barquera serves as President of the World Obesity Federation (2024–2026), where he continues to advocate for evidence-based strategies to prevent obesity and non-communicable diseases globally.
Simon Barquera Cervera, N96, NG05