Overweight and Obesity in Students of the Primary School “Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla”. Polyuc, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Abstract

Background: The Body Mass Index also called the Quetelet Index is a measure (kg/m²) used as an indicator of the adequacy of weight for a certain height. The resulting value is interpreted as an indicator of different nutritional situations, both physiological (normal weight) and pathological (low weight, overweight and obesity). Objective: Evaluate the nutritional situation of the students of the “Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla” Elementary School of the Polyuc community of the Mayan municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, Mexico, during the period from 6 de March de 2019 to 7 de December de 2020. Material and Methods: Descriptive cross–sectional epidemiological study with no directionality and prospective temporality. In the period from 6 de March de 2019 to 7 de December de 2020, 136 students from the “Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla” Elementary School were evaluated. The Mantel–Haenszel Chi–Square statistic (x²M–H) was used as a hypothesis test or test of statistical significance. Likewise, the Epi Info software for Windows, version 7.1.4.0, was used to obtain the values of both the x²M–H statistic and the probability (p). Results: Seventy–one (52.21%), 54 (39.71%), 9 (6.62%) and 2 (1.47%) students presented low weight, normal weight, overweight and obesity, respectively. Conclusion: It is concluded that the students of the “Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla” Elementary School have health problems with respect to their nutritional situation since 60.29% (82/136) have a pathological nutritional situation (low weight, overweight and obesity).