Nutrition Status of Children, Teenagers, and Adults From National Health and Nutrition Surveys in Mexico From 2006 to 2020

Abstract

Background: Population-level health and nutrition surveys provide critical anthropometric data used to monitor trends of the prevalence of under nutrition and overweight in children under 5 years old, and overweight and obesity in the population over 5 years of age.Objective: Analyze the children malnutrition and overweight and obesity in children, teenagers and adults through the National Health and Nutrition Surveys information available from public databases.Materials and Methods: Comparable anthropometric data was gathered by five Mexican National Health and Nutrition Surveys (in Spanish, ENSANUT). In pre-school-age children, under nutrition status was identified through underweight (Z-score below −2 in weight-for-age), stunting (chronic malnutrition) (Z-score below −2 for length/height-for-age), or wasting (Z-score below −2, for weight-for-length/height); overweight status was defined as a body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) for age over +2. For school-age children and adolescents, a Z-score BMI between +1 and +2 deviations was defined as overweight, and between +2 and +5.5 as obesity. In adults (≥20 years of age), overweight status was classified as a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9, and obesity as ≥30.Results: The anthropometric data presented derives from the databases of five survey years of the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey: 2006, 2012, 2016, 2018, and 2020. They include a total of 210,915 subjects with complete anthropometric data (weight, length/height) distributed on five survey moments; subjects were categorized by age group: pre-school-age children (n = 25,968), school-age children (n = 42,255), adolescents (n = 39,275), and adults (n = 103,417). Prevalence of malnutrition by indicator was calculated: in pre-school-age children: low height- and weight-for-age, low weight-for-height, and overweight; and in school-age children, adolescents, and adults, the indicators calculated were overweight and obesity.Conclusions: Results demonstrate the importance of maintaining systematic, reliable, and timely national anthropometric data in the population, in order to detect and track trends and to form the basis of nutrition-related public policy.

Childhood obesity in Mexico: Influencing factors and prevention strategies

“…Notably, we observed that a decrease in overweight was reported throughout the survey years, at the expense of increases in obesity, where today these two outcomes show similar behavior. In Mexico, OW and OB together in the year 2006 showed a prevalence of 34.8%; in the year 2020 this rose to 38.2%, where prevalence of OW was 20.2 and 19.6%, respectively, and prevalence of OB was 14.6% and rose four percentage points ( 2 ).…”

“…This is thanks to the National Nutrition Surveys of 1988 and 1999 and the first National Nutrition and Health Survey (ENSANUT for its Spanish acronym) in 2006, which recorded significant increases in the prevalence of these conditions in women and children ( 1 ). In school-age children, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 34.8% in 2006, 34.4% in 2012, 33.4% in 2016, 35.6% in 2018, 38.2% in 2020, and up to 37.3% in the year 2021 ( 2 – 4 ).…”

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“…Stunting (short height for age) and low birth weight, however, remain a problem (4.4.% prevalence of low weight and 15.5% prevalence of stunting in under 5-year-olds in 2020). 12 This is alongside a growing prevalence and health burden related to over-nutrition.…”

“…Stunting (short height for age) and low birth weight, however, remain a problem (4.4.% prevalence of low weight and 15.5% prevalence of stunting in under 5-year-olds in 2020). 13 This is alongside a growing prevalence and health burden related to over-nutrition. Mexico has disproportionately high rates of obesity: 78.0% of the adults are either overweight or obese; and 8.4% of under 5-year-olds as well as 38.2% of school children are overweight.…”

“…Mexico has disproportionately high rates of obesity: 78.0% of the adults are either overweight or obese; and 8.4% of under 5-year-olds as well as 38.2% of school children are overweight. 13 Still policies rarely address malnutrition in all its forms ie, simultaneously tackling under- and over-nutrition. The mother and child health inter-government program, ESIAN, is an exception.…”