Factors of overweight and obesity in Mexican high school teenagers. An exploration

Abstract

In this paper we report exploratory research on the factors that affect the overweight or obesity status of a group of Mexican high school students. We applied a survey with variables of health habits and family history, whose data were contrasted with the muscle mass index of the participants (N=64). Although the Chi square tests did not show significant correlations between the categorical variables and the obesity or overweight status of the students, some trends could be identified: obese or overweight adolescents come from families with history of heart disease, who usually consume purchased food instead of prepared at home, they maintain a regular intake of junk food and, above all, they regularly consume soft drinks. Although the variables of physical activity and sports practice did not show to have an impact on a healthy status, the physical educator can benefit from knowing the multiplicity of family and cultural factors that can affect their teaching practice when trying to prevent this problem and improve habits for a healthy life among their students.