Socioeconomic Determinants of Overweight and Obesity among Mexican Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Socioeconomic status (SES) has widely been studied as a potential risk factor for obesity among children and adolescents. Nevertheless, SES determinants are rarely contextualized within a country's situation. This work aimed to identify SES factors associated with childhood and adolescent obesity in Mexico. Eleven scientific databases were searched, and 54 studies met the inclusion criteria. When measuring SES, 56% of the studies measured wealth, 50% living environment (urban vs rural areas), 44% parental education, 30% ethnic origin, 24% income or monetary measurements, 20% parental occupation and 18% the type of school participants attended. We found that Mexican children and adolescents were significantly more likely to have either overweight or obesity if they had a higher wealth (estimated through household characteristics) (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.19, 1.72), lived in urban areas (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.20, 1.66), identified as non-Indigenous (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.22, 1.96), had mothers with secondary school studies or higher (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.14, 1.82), or mothers who were employed (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.30, 1.48). Not all indicators of a higher SES (e.g., attending private school or not participating in a food provision program) were significantly associated with childhood overweight or obesity in Mexico. Furthermore, the evidence for other indicators, such as family structure, family size, household income, and monetary measures, remains uncertain. This work presents evidence of childhood obesity inequalities in Mexico.