[Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children from Monterrey, Nuevo León]
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Ricardo Jorge Hernández-Herrera1, Álvaro Mathiew-Quirós, Oscar Díaz-Sánchez
1Centro de Investigación Biomédica del Noreste. Centro de Investigación Biomédica del Noreste, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Nuevo León México. rjorgeh642@gmail.com.
Insights
Pediatric overweight and obesity are critical global health issues. This study found a high prevalence of 45.5% in Mexican children, with obesity being twice as common as overweight.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Context:
- Pediatric obesity represents a significant and escalating global health challenge.
- Prevalence rates have risen dramatically in recent decades, reaching up to 30% by 2010.
- Understanding regional variations is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose:
- To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged 0-14 years.
- To assess these conditions across multiple healthcare and educational settings.
- To compare prevalence between sexes.
Summary:
- A prospective study assessed 1624 children (0-14 years) using World Health Organization standards.
- Overall overweight and obesity prevalence was 45.5% (15.5% overweight, 29.9% obesity).
- Obesity rates were significantly higher in males (33.6%) than females (26.4%), while overweight rates were similar.
Impact:
- This study reveals one of the highest national prevalences of pediatric overweight and obesity.
- Findings highlight a concerning trend in northwestern Mexico, necessitating urgent public health strategies.
- The data underscores the disproportionate burden of obesity on young males.
Background:
Pediatric obesity is a major health problem around the globe. It has increased in the last decades up to 30 % (in 2010). The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children from zero to 14 years from three family medicine units and one school.
Methods:
A prospective study of prevalence, which included children of both sexes who assisted to three family medicine units and a junior high school. We assessed the somatometry and compared it in accordance to the World Health Organization 2006-2007 references and standards.
Results:
The overall overweight and obesity prevalence in 1624 children was 45.5 % (15.5 % of overweight and 29.9 % of obesity, respectively). A total of 354 of 840 women (42.1 %) and 385 of 784 men (49 %) had overweight and obesity (p < 0.05). In both sexes, we did not observed a difference in overweight (15.7, women; 15.4, men). However, with regards to obesity, women showed 26.4 versus 33.6 of men (p < 0.05). We observed only one family unit with major obesity prevalence, which probably had an initial overestimation.
Conclusions:
We found one of the highest prevalences of overweight and obesity in children at a national level: up to 45 % in a state of Mexican northwestern. Obesity doubled overweight, and it was almost 10 % higher in men than in women.
