Diagnóstico y tratamiento de la obesidad en adultos mexicanos: cambios entre 2006 y 2018

Introduction: Worldwide, there has been an increase in body weight. Because of this, programs have been implemented to diagnose and treat obesity. It is required to document whether these programs have led people with obesity to receive effective diagnosis and treatment. Objective: To determine and compare the changes between 2006 and 2018 in the prevalences of diagnosis and treatment of obesity and intentional weight loss among Mexican adults and to identify whether there were changes in the social disparities in these events during this period. Materials and methods: The databases of the National Health and Nutrition Survey of Mexico carried out in 2006 (N=26,738) and 2018 (N= 12,205) were analyzed. The events were diagnosis and treatment of obesity and intentional weight loss in Mexican adults with BMI > 30. The independent variables were sex, age, body mass index, socioeconomic status, and geographic region. Results: From 2006 to 2018, the prevalence of people with obesity who received the diagnosis (from 20.4% to 51.1%) or treatment (from 8.3% to 21.4%) increased. The prevalence of intentional weight loss also increased (from 5.5% to 10.0%), but this was mainly in people with high socioeconomic status, Multivariate regression models revealed that, women, people with a higher BMI, and those with a higher socioeconomic status were more likely to receive diagnosis and treatment. Conclusions: Although in Mexico access to diagnosis and treatment of obesity has increased, the prevalence of intentional weight loss is low,In addition, socioeconomic disparities persist in these events.