On September 26, the III Binational Obesity Symposium was held in the city of Tijuana, Baja California, with the objective of sharing the different programs, interventions, promising practices and strategies with a focus on healthy policies, systems and approaches that impact communities where people live, learn, work and play in the border region of California and Baja California.
The ubiquitous obesity continues to be a public health problem in the states of California and Baja California and its border region due to the constant growth. The prevalence of obesity in California is 28%. However, there are areas in the border region, with higher prevalence of obesity, such as Imperial County, where more than 35% of its population is obese. As in the rest of the country, in California and its border region there are significant differences in the prevalence of obesity according to race or ethnic group. The Hispanic / Latino population has consistently had higher percentages of obesity compared to other ethnic groups. In Baja California, according to the National Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) 2012, the prevalence of obesity is 39.5%. By population groups, obesity in children in the state is 17.3%, in adolescents 19.6% and in adults 39.5%, which places the state at the national level in the positions, 11, 2 and 7 respectively.
The event was attended on behalf of the Binational Border Health Thematic Network (BBHTN), PhD. Rogelio Zapata Garbay, PhD. Melissa Machado Peña and PhD. Bárbara Jiménez.
