Diagnosis and treatment of obesity among Mexican adults

To quantify the access to diagnosis and treatment of obesity and intentional weight loss among obese adults in Mexico and to identify the sociodemographic factors related to these events.

The 2006 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey - representative of the adults aged 20 to 64 years - was analyzed. Whether people had received diagnosis and treatment from health professionals and whether they had intentional weight loss were explored. The independent variables were: sex, age, socioeconomic position, locality size, and body weight perception. Analyses were carried out for obese people only (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2), N = 8,545).

Among obese people, just 20.2% were diagnosed with such condition, only 8.0% undertook treatment, and barely 5.6% had lost weight intentionally. Individuals with a higher BMI, older individuals, people with higher education, those living in wealthier households, and those living in metropolitan areas were more likely to receive diagnosis and treatment for obesity. Women and people who had been diagnosed as obese were more likely to lose weight.

There is an urgent need to increase access to diagnosis and treatment of obesity in Mexico, particularly for men and for lower socioeconomic groups.