Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mexican school-aged children and adolescents. Ensanut 2020-2022.

Abstract

Objective. To describe the updated prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mexican school-aged children and adolescents with data from continuous National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensanut) in 2020-2022 years. Materials and methods. This analysis includes a sample of 6 950 school-aged children and 5 421 adolescents participants from Ensanut 2020-2022. From their weight and height measurements, the BMI (Body Mass Index) Z-score was obtained and the overweight and obesity prevalences were estimated at national level and by sex, dwelling area, geographical region and welfare status. Results. In school-aged children the prevalence of overweight was 19.2% (95%CI: 18,20.4) and for obesity was 18.1 (95%CI: 16.8,19.4); in males an increase of 5.8 percentage points (pp) was observed in obesity prevalence from 2006 to 2020-2022. In adolescents, the prevalence of overweight was 23.9% (95%CI: 22.4,25.5) and for obesity was 17.2% (95%CI: 15.8,18.6); in both sexes, the prevalence of obesity has increased around 5 pp from 2006 to 2020-2022. Conclusion. Overweight and obesity in these age groups remains as a population health problem in Mexico. It is necessary to conduct in-depth studies to develop effective strategies for its attention.