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Abstract
Background: Increasing rates of overweight and obesity in adolescents are major concerns in many countries, including Mexico.
Objectives: To study anthropometric and body composition characteristics (BCC) and their relations with socioeconomic status (SES), biological history and physical activity (PA) of school-going adolescent boys and girls in the city of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Subjects and methods: In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 321 adolescents (156 boys and 165 girls) aged 15–17 years from public and private schools in Merida, was taken from a study carried out in 2008–2009.
Results: Body mass index had significant correlations to BCC (fat mass and fat-free mass). The rate of stunting was higher in girls (18.20%) than in boys (7.69%). Stunted adolescents had higher body fat (%) than normally growing peers. High rates of overweight (boys 26.28%, girls 24.24%) and obesity (boys 10.26%, girls 6.06%) were recorded. SES (parents’ age, education and occupation; crowding index in the family; household food expenditure), participants’ biological history and PA are related with height and BCC by age and sex.
Conclusion: Adolescents with excess weight (overweight + obesity) reported being less physically active. SES and PA were strongly related to growth and body fatness in the studied adolescents.
Acknowledgements
The data reported in this article were collected and analysed as part of a research grant (No. 59994-H) from Conacyt, Mexico. A first version of this article was revised by FD during a sabbatical at the School of Sports, Exercise and Health Sciences of the University of Loughborough, UK, sponsored by a Conacyt fellowship (No. 166138). The authors thank Armando Rojas and Graciela Valentín (Cinvestav-IPN, Merida) for their assistance during field work and data collection.