Introduction:

Childhood obesity is a public health challenge. Between 1999 and 2012, the prevalence in Mexico of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren went from 25.5 to 32 %. Objective: To report current prevalence of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren from the municipality of Durango, Mexico.

Method:

Cross-sectional survey conducted between January 2017 and December 2018. A total of 24,600 children aged between six and 11 years from 138 schools of the municipality of Durango were included. The body mass index reference values established by the World Health Organization were used to determine the presence of overweight and obesity.

Results:

The prevalence of overweight was 19.7 %, of obesity, 16 %, and of overweight and obesity combined, 35.7 %. In the six-year-old group, a prevalence of overweight-obesity of 25.4 % was found, and in the 11-year-old group, 41.1 %.

Conclusions:

The prevalence of overweight-obesity in children aged from 6 to 11 years in the municipality of Durango is higher than those reported in the national survey by states in 2012 and in the 2016 national survey; prevalence showed a tendency to increase with age.