Jennifer Mendoza
Research expert covering health, pharma and medtech
Overweight and obesity in Mexico- Statistics & Facts
Mexico is a country characterized by a variety of multifaceted and contrasted realities. In the case of nutrition, this is well represented by the simultaneous presence of two seemingly opposing and yet notably related phenomena: a high level of vulnerability to food deprivation and concerning levels of overweight and obesity within the Mexican population. While the share of people at risk of not accessing enough nutrients has remained relatively stable in recent years, with around 40 percent of Mexicans dealing with this susceptibility, the proportion of adults suffering from overweight or obesity in the country reached a share of over 70 percent of the population in 2021. That year, women, adults aged 20 and older, and those living in the State of Mexico and in the Border region were the most affected.
According to public opinion, having a healthy diet, exercising, the availability of preventive information, and reducing the consumption of unhealthy food are the main actions necessary to prevent obesity. Moreover, Mexicans believe that the government should endorse preventive information campaigns, ban and regulate the supply of unhealthy food, and promote school programs focused on the issue. In fact, the Mexican government has carried out efforts to address the situation, with programs that ban certain products from schools, marketing policies for children’s goods, movement campaigns, and warning labels in food products containing unhealthy amounts of certain ingredients such as sugar and salt.
Why is the overweight and obesity prevalence in Mexico so high?
The high prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mexico is not the result of a single factor, but rather of an array of cultural, structural, socioeconomic, and even genetic determinants that contribute to the upsurge of these two medical conditions. While Mexicans are of the opinion that the main causes of obesity are unhealthy habits, a high junk/fast food supply, and a lack of nutritional information, the issue is complex and largely impacted by structural components and environmental characteristics partly related to the social and economic development of the country in recent years. Dietary changes and a more prevalent level of sedentarism are the result of more modern life habits recently adopted by certain sectors of the Mexican population, and highly influenced by working and living conditions, and the availability patterns of an assortment of goods and services.According to public opinion, having a healthy diet, exercising, the availability of preventive information, and reducing the consumption of unhealthy food are the main actions necessary to prevent obesity. Moreover, Mexicans believe that the government should endorse preventive information campaigns, ban and regulate the supply of unhealthy food, and promote school programs focused on the issue. In fact, the Mexican government has carried out efforts to address the situation, with programs that ban certain products from schools, marketing policies for children’s goods, movement campaigns, and warning labels in food products containing unhealthy amounts of certain ingredients such as sugar and salt.
Associated diseases
The amount of attention received by the current situation is the result of increasing awareness of the public health consequences of overweight and obesity within the population. In 2021, two diseases associated with obesity were among the leading causes of death in Mexico, namely diabetes and various heart ailments, along with COVID-19, for which this medical condition has been considered a risk factor related to severe cases. That year, the prevalence of diabetes among the adult population amounted to over 10 percent, and increased with age, reaching a proportion of more than 30 percent for adults aged 61 and older. In the case of hypertension, average prevalence lay around 16 percent for Mexican adults, with approximately 60 percent in the case of those aged 81 and older. High cholesterol levels were present in nearly a third of the adult population. Looking forward, successfully addressing the influence of overweight and obesity rates on these health issues will not only require strong will, but also a joint effort between public and private sectors on addressing its main structural causes.
