Sobrepeso y Obesidad en Comunidades Indígenas Mayas. Economía, Cultura y Género

Abstract

La vida de las comunidades rurales mexicanas experimentó cambios significativos derivados de la globalización. La combinación de cultura indígena en Yucatán y modernidad originó nuevos estilos de vida provocando un impacto negativo en la condición nutricia de sus habitantes. Entre los problemas de salud más importantes está el sobrepeso y obesidad, que dada su multidimensionalidad debe ser analizado desde diferentes disciplinas. Su carácter económico y social justifica estudiar la Población en Edad de Trabajar analizando factores del mercado laboral, de consumo, y de género en un contexto de cultura local. El principal objetivo del trabajo es estudiar la alta incidencia del sobrepeso y la obesidad en las áreas rurales yucatecas. Se utilizan modelos de regresión logística binaria para establecer la relación con diversas variables.

Introduction The life of rural communities in Mexico has undergone significant changes in recent years as a result of the processes been driven by globalization. The combination of indigenous culture in Yucatan and modernity has brought new lifestyles that have caused a negative impact on the nutritional status of its inhabitants. Among them, overweight and obesity have become one of the most important health problems, which can and must be analysed from different disciplines given its multidimensionality. Economic and social nature makes relevant study the Working Age Population analysing labour market factors, consumer, and gender in the context of local culture given its large indigenous population. Aim Overweight and obesity is a serious public health problem affecting several countries, among which Mexico highlights, and especially the state of Yucatan, which has a high indigenous Mayan population mostly in its rural areas. The main objective of this work is to study this high incidence of overweight and obesity in rural areas as a result of a strong cultural roots in a conducive context for the increase in body mass index (BMI), being the gender a differentiating factor. Methodology In this study, socio-demographic factors and cultural character and its relationship to nutritional imbalance of the studied population are analysed. Also, labour factors of Yucatan rural population and its relationship to overweight and obesity rates are analysed. Finally, several variables related to nutritional imbalance are contrasted and gender differences in the Yucatan rural population are identified. In order to do this, there were used the results of the surveys and work anthropometric measurement and others made in the project: “The effects of globalization on traditional food consumption, the use of biodiversity and nutrition of the rural inhabitants of Yucatan, Mexico” (Becerril, 2009). From comprehensive database, variables related to the occupation, the location of the community regarding the state capital, education, and consumption habits were selected; and in the case of women if they have had children. Then, there were built, using SPSS software, binary logistic regression models for both men and women. Main results On the health issue, obesity stands out as a problem that affects a large population, from childhood to adulthood, with the highest incidence in women. The role of women in the Mayan culture, especially in their role as mothers, is related to the fact that they don’t see obesity as a health problem. For both women and men, the variables proximity to the city of Merida, where you eat, where you buy your food and kind of drinks accompanying foods do not affect the condition of overweight or obesity. According to the results of the regression model the likelihood of obesity decreases by increasing the level of education only for women, but in these rural areas in Mexico, women have lower educational level than men. Overweight and obesity has a significant relationship with the fact that women have children; the more children women have the higher the likelihood that women have obesity or overweight is. Contrasting models respect to the values of R2 Nagelkerke shows that the analysed variables explain the condition of being overweight or obese better in the case of men than for women, however, the occupation increases further the likelihood of being overweight or obese for men and acts inversely for women. Conclusion It is confirmed in this study the high incidence of overweight and obesity in the rural communities in Yucatan, Mexico. There is a relationship between the indigenous Mayan culture and a certain ‘lack of awareness’ of the health problem that supposes the overweight and obesity. Although at the moment is the woman who has the highest rates of obesity, it can also be the most effective way to implement actions to sustained improvements. Education is perhaps the most efficient strategy in the short, medium and long term. Moreover, it is urgent to reduce welfare gaps between rural and urban as well as gender.