Adrián Reyes
MEXICO CITY, Aug 8 2006 (IPS) – Mexico has the highest proportion of people considered overweight or obese 20 percent of children and 70 percent of adults in the world, surpassed only by the United States.
We have to leave behind the idea that a chubby child is a healthy child, Gisela Anaya, with the non-governmental Mexican Diabetes Federation, told IPS.
Emilio Fernández, head of the independent Platícame (Talk to Me) Foundation of Children and Adults with Diabetes, told IPS that the weight gain among the population is the result of the drastic drop in consumption of fruit and vegetables over the last five years and the rise in consumption of junk food and fast food rich in carbohydrates and sugars.
Obesity is one of the factors that predispose people to diabetes, which is why we are backing up and reinforcing the actions taken by the health authorities, to put up a common front against this problem, said Fernández, who underscored the need to push for changes in dietary habits through orientation and education in schools.
Health Secretary Julio Frenk Mora reported that in the past five years, the proportion of people over 20 who are overweight or obese rose 10 percent, to 70 percent of the population, according to the 2005-2006 National Nutrition Survey.
This silent epidemic , as Frenk Mora referred to the problem, is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Today, 26.5 percent of the adult population in Mexico suffers from high blood pressure, and more than 13 percent has high levels of cholesterol in the blood.
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The Health Ministry is thus focusing on measures to combat and prevent obesity, such as awareness-raising strategies on healthy nutritional habits.
In a recent meeting with business representatives from the food industry, the official said that if the public and private sectors do not act together, we will simply be unable to deal with the challenges posed by obesity, and the implications for future generations.
According to the National Nutrition Survey, 66 percent of the population in northern Mexico the most developed part of the country is overweight or obese; 63.3 percent in central Mexico; 58.4 percent in the impoverished south; and 62.7 percent in Mexico City, which is home to 20 million of the country s 104 million people.
Among children aged 10 to 17, 36.4 percent of girls and 35.9 percent of boys are overweight. Each kilogramme of excess weight increases the chances of developing diabetes by five percent, adds the Survey.
The Survey also notes that overweight children and adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight adults, and that children today engage in 70 percent less physical activity than 30 years ago.
The Mexican Diabetes Federation s Ayala said a sedentary lifestyle was linked to factors like higher crime and decreased public safety which make it difficult for children to play outside, the proliferation and growing accessibility of computer and video games, and the increasingly busy lifestyles of parents, which make family activities less and less frequent.
Around 90 percent of overweight people do not see their condition as a health risk, said Dr. Agustín Lara Esqueda, director of the governmental Programme for Adults and the Elderly.
Lara Esqueda explained that the Health Ministry s publicity campaigns are aimed at raising awareness among people who are overweight, setting a target for them to reduce their waistline by at least five cm between now and 2010. An average reduction of five cm would cut the risk of dying of cardiovascular disease by 30 percent, he said.
The campaign is being carried out through government programmes like the low income health insurance plan Seguro Popular, which provides free coverage to some five million people who fall outside of the social security system, and the Oportunidades plan, which caters to those living in extreme poverty.
The Cartilla de Salud (Health Card) was also established as a follow-up mechanism, to ensure that people regularly check their weight and are tested for conditions like diabetes.
Through the National Centre for Epidemiological Surveillance and Disease Control, the Health Ministry created the Internet portal www.todoennutricion.org, which provides advice to the public on a healthy diet and weight control, and on how to calculate weight and waist measurements.
According to medical recommendations, women with a waist size of 80 cm or more and men with a waist measurement of 90 cm or more should go in for a checkup because of the risk that they may be overweight and in consequence, may be on the way to developing diabetes, which if detected early enough can be successfully prevented or controlled.
Diabetes, a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone that is necessary to convert sugar, starches, and other food into energy, affects nearly 10 million Mexicans, and is a major cause of disease and death.
