Childhood obesity is being considered a global health epidemic, and one of the countries mostly affected by it is Mexico. The aim of this study was to assess the perceptions of low-income mothers with regard to their child's weight status and physical activity and their beliefs about healthy and high-density foods. A total of 813 mothers attending a vaccination centre at three primary care clinics in three different regions of Mexico, and their infants ranging from 5 to 24 months old, participated in the study. Anthropometrical measurements and interviews were conducted at the clinic. The child's average age was 12.7 months. Forty-three percent of mothers underestimate their child's weight status; this percentage jumps to 83% when we refer to mothers of overweight and obese children. Mothers with overweight and obese children, having a monthly income higher than 600 dollars, less than 6 years of education, and having migrated to their current state of residence are more likely to underestimate their child's weight. A high percentage of the mothers wish their children were less active, and they do not consider that carbonated and non-carbonated sweetened drinks and high fat snacks might be dangerous to their child's health. In conclusion, low-income, Mexican mothers highly underestimate their infant's weight status and have higher risks of fostering an obesogenic environment.

Objective: SARS-CoV-2 disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly contagious and spreads rapidly. The application of preventive measures has proven to be the best strategy to minimize the number of patients and the dissemination of and deaths from COVID-19. The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors that limit the adherence of asthmatic patients to measures that prevent COVID-19 among residents of a region with a high risk of a COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: Through a cross-sectional study, data from 2,372 participants aged 16-24 years were analyzed. To collect their information, a questionnaire was constructed using the Google Forms tool. Due to the prevention measures in place for COVID-19, the home quarantine of many people, and the lack of socialization, the questionnaire was distributed through email (Internet) and WhatsApp. A logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between the variables. Results: The prevalence of asthma was 12.2%, and non-adherence to the guidelines for the prevention of COVID-19 was 53.1%. Approximately 30.8% of asthma patients did not comply with the basic prevention measures for COVID-19. The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that being male, active smoking, and believing that COVID-19 is not a more severe disease for people suffering from asthma than others were associated with nonadherence to the basic protection measures established in the guidelines for the prevention of COVID-19. Conclusions: It is important for health professionals to advise asthma patients to comply with the basic measures of protection against COVID-19 and timely use medications for asthma control.

Results suggest that climatic differences and origin influence the phytochemicals in the medicinal plant Turnera diffusa, and thus, it is worth to consider such effects for industrial and medicinal purposes.

Personal beliefs might be barriers to the prevention and treatment of obesity. To assess the beliefs about causes and consequences of and possible solutions to obesity among 18-40 years old women in two Mexican cities and to analyze the association with demographic variables, we developed a questionnaire and assessed the women's weight status. The questionnaire was applied at two outpatient healthcare centres and assessed the responses by the Likert scale. Results were analyzed by demographics, using the chi-square and Spearman correlations. One thousand one hundred adult women participated in the study. Mean age was 27.8 years, and mean BMI (kg/m2) was 27.05. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 35% and 24% respectively. The most mentioned causes of obesity were eating oil and fat (4.1), fried foods (4.1), and eating too much (4.00). The most reported consequences were diseases (4.1), discrimination (3.9), and early death (3.7). The main solutions were physical activity (4.2), healthful eating (4.2), and personal motivation (4.1). Age of participants higher than 30 years, living with a partner, having more than 6 years of education, and having overweight and obesity were predictors of more knowledge about the causes, consequences, and solutions. These Mexican women from low SES had reasonably good knowledge about the causes and consequences of obesity. Although improving education might be beneficial to prevent obesity, changes in environmental contingencies are also necessary to prevent this epidemic.

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