OBESITY AND WOMENS HEALTH IN 2 SOCIOECONOMIC AREAS OF YUCATAN, MEXICO

In this paper data on height, body weight, body mass index, and 4 subc utaneous fatfolds and health data from 216 Yucatecan women older than 30 years of age, by place of residence and migrant status, and by soci oeconomic status, are reported. The high proportion of overweight, hyp ertension and diabetes mellitus, suggests that obesity is an important Public Health problem for the populations from which the samples were selected. Evidence from the literature suggests that the frequency of obese women in the rural areas of Yucatan has increased in the last d ecades. According to available data on human growth for the regional p opulations and to the data reported in this paper, it is suggested the hypothesis that a large part of the Yucatecan population is under nut ritional stress most of its life: malnutrition during the childhood an d adolescent, and obesity from very young in the adult life.