Increased Calorie Intake at a Specific Mid-morning Meal and Increased Intake of Soft Drinks are Strongly Associated with Obesity in Mexican Rural Women

Abstract

The study investigated the dietary habits and foods that are associated with obesity in women from a rural area in Mexico. Anthropometry and body fat were measured in 580 women. Participants answered a socioeconomic and a food-frequency questionnaire; a subsample (n = 80) also answered three 24-hour-recall questionnaires. Results showed that obese women consumed more soft drinks and fat than did overweight and normal-weight women. Women who consumed more energy during a mid-morning meal had higher BMI. A strategy to decrease the prevalence of obesity in rural areas could be to encourage limiting the consumption of soft drinks and eliminating or reducing caloric intake at a mid-morning meal.

KEYWORDS:

• dietary habits
• food
• meals
• obesity
• women

Additional information

Funding

The project was partially supported by CONACYT project number SEP-2004-C01-48183. The authors acknowledge the work of the nutritionists that participated in the field work, Rosa Martha Rodríguez and Shadia Elian, and also the health clinics in the communities where the study took place.