Differences in Body Weight According to Skin Color and Sex in Mexican Adults
Luis Ortiz-Hernandez1, Itzel Patricia Miranda-Quezada2,3
1Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City, Mexico. lortiz@correo.xoc.uam.mx.
Objectives:
1) To analyze the differences in body weight according to skin color in Mexican adults. 2) Identify mediator variables that could explain possible differences in body weight according to skin color.
Methods:
A nationally representative survey of Mexican adults was analyzed (n = 12,021). People with obesity were identified (body mass index, BMI > 30) based on self-reported weight and height. Skin color was measured by self-report using a chromatic scale. The mediator variables were socioeconomic level, height, neighborhood public services, public safety, and discrimination based on skin color.
Results:
Compared to white-skinned women, brown-skinned women had higher BMI and a higher probability of being obese. These differences in weight by skin color are related to the lower level of education and more discrimination experiences of brown-skinned women. In men, there were no differences in weight according to skin color.
Conclusions:
In Mexican women (but not in men), darker skin color was associated with a higher probability of being obese, and the examined social factors partially explained this disparity.
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