Table 6 Food consumption, obesity and diet-related chronic diseases in Mexico.

Between 1988 and 1999, percentage of total energy intake from fat increased from 23.5% to 30.3% and between 1984 and 1998, purchases of refined carbohydrates increased by 37.2% [77,150]. Although the absolute increases of fat were higher in the wealthier north and Mexico City (30–32%), the poorer southern region also experienced a significant increase (22%). At the same time, trends in obesity and diabetes are reaching "epidemic" proportions. Overweight/obesity increased 78% between 1988 and 1998, from 33% to 59% [150]. Obesity is now quite high in some poor rural communities [151]: the greatest relative changes occurred in the poorer southern region (81%) compared to the wealthier north (46%). More recent figures estimated overweight/obesity at 62.5% in 2004. While the obese clearly consume sufficient energy, the same cannot be said of micronutrients: women who are underweight, normal weight or overweight/obese are equally likely to suffer from anaemia [152]. Obesity is also giving rise to an epidemic of diabetes which is rising fastest in the poor regions [153]. Over 8% of Mexicans now have diabetes, which the WHO estimates costs the country US$15 billion a year [154,155].