title: Overweight and obesity doubled over a 6-year period in young women living in poverty in Mexico.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To document the changes in BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in young women living in poverty in a semi-urban community in Mexico.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women who had previously participated in a longitudinal research study (1997-2000) were re-assessed in 2005. Anthropometric measurements were obtained using standard procedures, and socio-demographic questionnaires were administered. Total and annual rate of change in BMI and change in the prevalence of overweight and obesity (BMI > or = 25.0 and > or =30.0) were estimated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age in 2005 was 30.0 +/- 5.7 years (n = 683) and time between recruitment and follow-up was 6.4 +/- 1.0 years. Mean change in BMI was +3.6 +/- 2.7 (range -8.2 to +14.6). In 2005, 500 (73.2%) women were overweight, up from 263 (38.5%) in the original assessment. The prevalence of obesity tripled over the follow-up period (from 9.8% to 30.3%). The mean annual rate of change in BMI was +0.6 (+/-0.4). After adjustment for age and parity at baseline, an annual rate of change of BMI above the sample median (>0.5) was associated with lower levels of formal education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The annual increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in this sample is double that which was reported at a national level in Mexico. An understanding of the determinants of this rapid increase among the women living in poverty in Mexico is urgently needed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nutri tional Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. neufeld@insp.mx
authors.forename: Lynnette M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Neufeld
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hernández-Cordero
authors.forename: Lia C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Fernald
authors.forename: Usha
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ramakrishnan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011204:Poverty Areas; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors