Resumen

MELENDEZ, Juana María; CANEZ, Gloria María  y  FRIAS, Hevilat. Food behavior and infantile obesity in Sonora, Mexico. Rev.latinoam.cienc.soc.niñez juv [online]. 2010, vol.8, n.2, pp. 1131-1147. ISSN 1692-715X.

The aim of this paper is to identify some of the social factors associated with the occurrence of obesity and food behavior disorders in children of both sexes from the ages of 7-12 years in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Results showed that 40% of the target population is overweight or obese. On the other hand, 39% of the children show a tendency to behave in a risky way towards food, while 30% is already at risk. We found that the main factors related to behavioral food risk among children are: fear to become obese and obsession for slimness, anxiety due to food consumption, calorie restrictive eating as well as the social pressure over the ideal body image.

Palabras llave : food behavior; food-behavior disorders; social factors; child obesity; Mexico.