Objective: To characterize body morphology and blood pressure of adults of the Mexican state of Yucatan.
Material and methods: Rural-urban differences in weight, height, waist, and hip circumferences, and blood pressure were analyzed in 313 urban and 271 rural subjects.
Results: No rural-urban differences in prevalence of obesity and overweight were found. Hypertension was marginally higher in urban subjects. Rural abnormal waist circumference was higher in young men and young women. Comparison with two national surveys and a survey in the aboriginal population (rural mixtecos) showed similar prevalence of obesity as ENSA-2000 and higher than mixtecos and ENEC-1993. Abnormal waist circumference was intermediate between ENSANUT-2006 and mixtecos and hypertension was intermediate between ENEC and mixtecos.
Conclusion: The Maya and mestizo population of Yucatan showed a high prevalence of obesity and abnormal waist circumference not accompanied by a comparable higher hypertension frequency. This finding requires further confirmation.