Thinness, overweight, and obesity in indigenous school children and youth in Mexico.

The prevalence of overweight (OWT) and obesity (OB), defined by the body mass index (BMI, kg/m) among children and youth has increased worldwide in the last 30-40 years. To evaluate the weight status, defined by the BMI, of indigenous school children and youth resident in different regions of Mexico Students 6-18 years (31,448 boys, 27,306 girls) were enrolled in bilingual schools for indigenous children and youth in Mexico in 2012. Height and weight were measured; the BMI was calculated. The BMI of each student was classified relative to International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) age- and sex-specific criteria as thin (three grades), normal, overweight (OWT) or obese (OB). The sample was divided into five geographic regions for analysis: North, Central, South-Gulf, South-Pacific, and South-Southeast. Age- and sex-specific prevalence, 95% confidence intervals, and Chi-square tests were calculated. Prevalence of OWT + OB was highest in the South-Gulf, South-Pacific and South-Southeast regions and lowest in the North and Central regions, while thinness was most prevalent in the North and Central regions. Prevalence of severe and moderate thinness was relatively low, while the combined prevalence of OWT + OB was generally more prevalent in indigenous boys than girls. However, the prevalence of thinness, OWT + OB among indigenous children and youth was lower than in the general population of children and youth in Mexico.