Differences in Body Weight According to Skin Color and Sex in Mexican Adults.

OBJECTIVES

1. To analyze the differences in body weight according to skin color in Mexican adults. 2) Identify mediator variables that could explain possible differences in body weight according to skin color.

METHODS

A nationally representative survey of Mexican adults was analyzed (n = 12,021). People with obesity were identified (body mass index, BMI > 30) based on self-reported weight and height. Skin color was measured by self-report using a chromatic scale. The mediator variables were socioeconomic level, height, neighborhood public services, public safety, and discrimination based on skin color.

RESULTS

Compared to white-skinned women, brown-skinned women had higher BMI and a higher probability of being obese. These differences in weight by skin color are related to the lower level of education and more discrimination experiences of brown-skinned women. In men, there were no differences in weight according to skin color.

CONCLUSIONS

In Mexican women (but not in men), darker skin color was associated with a higher probability of being obese, and the examined social factors partially explained this disparity.