The double burden of undernutrition and excess body weight in Mexico

Abstract

Background: In Mexico, stunting and anemia have declined but are still high in some regions and subpopulations, whereas overweight and obesity have increased at alarming rates in all age and socioeconomic groups. Objective: The objective was to describe the coexistence of stunting, anemia, and overweight and obesity at the national, household, and individual levels. Design: We estimated national prevalences of and trends for stunting, anemia, and overweight and obesity in children aged ,5 y and in school-aged children (5-11 y old) and anemia and overweight and obesity in women aged 20-49 y by using the National Health and Nutrition Surveys conducted in 1988Surveys conducted in , 1999Surveys conducted in , 2006Surveys conducted in , and 2012 With the use of the most recent data (2012), the double burden of malnutrition at the household level was estimated and defined as the coexistence of stunting in children aged ,5 y and overweight or obesity in the mother. At the individual level, double burden was defined as concurrent stunting and overweight and obesity in children aged 5-11 y and concurrent anemia and overweight or obesity in children aged 5-11 y and in women. We also tested if the coexistence of the conditions corresponded to expected values, under the assumption of independent distributions of each condition. Results: At the household level, the prevalence of concurrent stunting in children aged ,5 y and overweight and obesity in mothers was 8.4%; at the individual level, prevalences were 1% for stunting and overweight or obesity and 2.9% for anemia and overweight or obesity in children aged 5-11 y and 7.6% for anemia and overweight or obesity in women. At the household and individual levels in children aged 5-11 y, prevalences of double burden were significantly lower than expected, whereas anemia and the prevalence of overweight or obesity in women were not different from that expected. Conclusions: Although some prevalences of double burden were lower than expected, assuming independent distributions of the 2 conditions, the coexistence of stunting, overweight or obesity, and anemia at the national, household, and intraindividual levels in Mexico calls for policies and programs to prevent the 3 conditions. Am J Clin Nutr 2014;100(suppl):1652S-8S.

Early feeding patterns among Mexican babies: findings from the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey and implications for health and obesity prevention

“…As mentioned previously, Mexico is undergoing a nutrition transition characterized by declining rates of undernutrition in past decades and increasing rates of obesity in all age groups. It has been suggested that Mexico may be experiencing an advanced stage of the nutrition transition due to lower than expected prevalences of the coexistence of the conditions at the household and individual levels, particularly overweight/ obesity with anemia and stunting in school-aged children [3]. Yet, the presence of the double burden at national, household and individual levels is an onorous public health concern and comprises a complex interplay of social, economic and political factors.…”

“…Whereas most public policies have focused on prevention of undernutrition, these efforts addressing excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages target the widespread prevalence of obesity in Mexico, which is now recognized as an epidemic [1]. However, a substantive prevalence of undernutrition (stunting, anemia) still exists in some regions and population groups in Mexico, despite the decline in undernutrition in the past few decades [3]. Thus, it is essential to assess early childhood feeding practices within the context of the double burden of undernutrition and obesity facing the Mexican population.…”

“…In Mexico, the national health and nutrition surveys over the past 24 years have shown a marked nutrition transition characterized by a steady decline in child undernutrition and a consistent increase in overweight and obesity at alarming rates in all age groups [3] with the highest reported rates of change in obesity prevalence in the world [4]. Among Mexican children, overweight and obesity rates increased from 26.9 % in 1999 to 34.4 % in 2012 among 5-to 11-year-olds and overweight increased from 7.8 % in 1988 to 9.0 % in 2012 in children under age 5 years [3]. This small albeit important increase in the prevalence of overweight in Mexico's youngest children contributes to the growing recognition that early childhood provides the best opportunity for addressing obesity prevention [5].…”

The Double Burden of Undernutrition and Overnutrition in Developing Countries: an Update

“…A brief overview of the studies' characteristics is presented in Table 2, and some important features are described in the following sections. Eight articles provided a general review [ [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42], and 2 examined the DBMN situation in Africa [43,44].…”

The association of lead exposure during pregnancy and childhood anthropometry in the Mexican PROGRESS cohort

“…In particular, lead exposure remains a public health problem for childbearing women, their developing fetuses and may have lifelong impacts on children’s growth and development. Mexico is unique in that both stunting and obesity are major public health concerns in children (Kroker-Lobos et al 2014). There are many risk factors for lead exposure, the most common of which are use of traditional lead glazed pottery (the main exposure factor for the general population), pica (the eating of nonfood substances), occupational exposure (directly or indirectly from the inadvertent transfer of lead dust from the workplace on workers’ clothing, shoes or bodies), use of alternative remedies or cosmetics, air pollutants and nutritional sources (due to food wrappers and water sources) (Bakhireva et al 2013; Brown et al 2000; Meneses-Gonzalez et al 2003; Romieu et al 1994; CDC 2010).…”