Introduction:

The health and nutrition outlook of the Mexican population may be framed in terms of chronic infant malnutrition, largely in the rural and indigenous sectors, and a significant increase in overweight and obesity. This general information is obtained from surveys without taking into account the biosociocultural context that is a codeterminant of the nutritional condition of many small indigenous communities.

Objective:

To study the nutritional status of Otomí school children living in a marginalized Mexican community from the perspective of the biosociocultural context in which they live.

Methods:

This is a prospective and transversal study carried out in a location of the state of México, México. The convenience sample was constituted by 214 children between 6 and 12 years old. Internationally accepted anthropometric techniques were used to collect data on the height and weight of these children. BMIs were calculated. The status of nutrition was estimated based on the expected weight, height, and BMI for each age. These data were compared with the corresponding WHO references.

Results:

The prevalence of low height and malnutrition related to the ages of these children was found to be low, but one in three of these children was found to be overweight or obese. There were some age groups differences regarding the BMI. The z scores of the three indicators are similar between boys and girls.

Discussion and Conclusions:

In comparison to the national and state parameters, the children studied showed a low prevalence of overweight and obesity associated with their sociocultural context.