Objectives: 1) To analyze the differences in body weight according to skin color in Mexican adults. 2) Identify mediator variables that could explain possible differences in body weight according to skin color.
Methods: A nationally representative survey of Mexican adults was analyzed (n = 12,021). People with obesity were identified (body mass index, BMI > 30) based on self-reported weight and height. Skin color was measured by self-report using a chromatic scale. The mediator variables were socioeconomic level, height, neighborhood public services, public safety, and discrimination based on skin color.
Results: Compared to white-skinned women, brown-skinned women had higher BMI and a higher probability of being obese. These differences in weight by skin color are related to the lower level of education and more discrimination experiences of brown-skinned women. In men, there were no differences in weight according to skin color.
Conclusions: In Mexican women (but not in men), darker skin color was associated with a higher probability of being obese, and the examined social factors partially explained this disparity.
Keywords: Body Weight; Discrimination; Obesity; Racism; Skin pigmentation; Socioeconomic disparity.
© 2023. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.