Mexicans, increasingly obese and far from public services

The results of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensanut 2020) show that there is a higher prevalence of comorbidities among Mexicans and that the first option when faced with the disease for the majority is not to go to public medical services, but to get out of their pocket to treat yourself.

In Mexico, the population is increasingly overweight and obese, the prevalence of diabetes is higher, the COVID-19 health crisis exposed people more to the disease, and public medical services are not the answer for the majority of those in need. attention, as demonstrated by the results of the National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensanut) 2020, presented this June 11. The study sampled 10 households in nine regions.

The results, said during the presentation, Hugo López-Gatell, Undersecretary of Health, are the portrait of a precarious health system that has been insufficient to cover the needs of Mexicans, and that in the last 20 years had a reduction in its capacity in relation to population growth.

Among those who participated in the sample that served as the study for this, 74.1% of women and men aged 20 and over are overweight and obese, which represents an increase of 2.8 percentage points compared to 2012. 

Of Mexican women, 76% do not have a healthy weight, compared to 73% in 2012; while among men, 73% is exceeded, when nine years ago, that percentage was 69.4%. The highest prevalence of obesity was observed in the Pacific (43.9%), border (39.3%) and peninsula (41.5%) regions. 

In the last eight years there has also been an increase in diabetes due to medical diagnosis, this disease went from a prevalence of 9.2% in 2012 to 10.6% in 2020. 

At the national level, the proportion of the population with a medical diagnosis of other chronic conditions is also high: 13.4% have hypertension; 1.7%, cardiovascular disease and 2.1% chronic lung disease. Among adults, 49% have high triglycerides and 26.1% have high total cholesterol. 

The results on nutrition show that the prevalence of low height in boys and girls under five years of age was 13.9% and that of low weight was 4.4%. Overweight in this group is 8.4%; while the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children from 5 to 11 years old was 19.6 and 18.6%. 

Source and text: https://www.animalpolitico.com/2021/06/obesa-poblacion-mexicana-enferma-servicios-salud/