title: Diagnosis and treatment of obesity among Mexican adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify the access to diagnosis and treatment of obesity and intentional weight loss among obese adults in Mexico and to identify the sociodemographic factors related to these events.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 2006 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey - representative of the adults aged 20 to 64 years - was analyzed. Whether people had received diagnosis and treatment from health professionals and whether they had intentional weight loss were explored. The independent variables were: sex, age, socioeconomic position, locality size, and body weight perception. Analyses were carried out for obese people only (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2), N = 8,545).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among obese people, just 20.2% were diagnosed with such condition, only 8.0% undertook treatment, and barely 5.6% had lost weight intentionally. Individuals with a higher BMI, older individuals, people with higher education, those living in wealthier households, and those living in metropolitan areas were more likely to receive diagnosis and treatment for obesity. Women and people who had been diagnosed as obese were more likely to lose weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an urgent need to increase access to diagnosis and treatment of obesity in Mexico, particularly for men and for lower socioeconomic groups.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Atención a la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Xochimilco, México, México.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pérez-Salgado
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valdés Flores
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ortiz-Hernández
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D014505:Urban Population; D015431:Weight Loss; D055815:Young Adult