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. 2021 Nov 8:8:740361.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.740361. eCollection 2021.

Anthropometric Profile of Latin American Population: Results From the ELANS Study

Marianella Herrera-Cuenca  1   2 , Irina Kovalskys  3 , Alejandro Gerardi  3 , Pablo Hernandez  4 , Yaritza Sifontes  2   4 , Georgina Gómez  5 , Martha Cecilia Yépez García  6 , Betty Méndez-Pérez  7 , Maritza Landaeta-Jimenez  2 , Rossina Pareja  8 , Lilia Yadira Cortés  9 , Attilio Rigotti  10 , Mauro Fisberg  11   12 , Iona Zalcman Zimberg  13
Affiliations

Anthropometric Profile of Latin American Population: Results From the ELANS Study

Marianella Herrera-Cuenca et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: Latin America has experienced changes in lifestyle since 1960. Aim: The aim was to determine the prevalence of obesity and stunting among eight countries of Latin American and to identify the determinant risk factors for obesity. Subjects and Methods: Data were obtained from 9,218 participants of the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health (ELANS), a multicenter cross-sectional study of the representative samples in eight Latin American countries. All the participants completed a standard protocol to investigate the nutrient intake and anthropometric variables (weight, height, and circumferences) analyzed by country, gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Results: The prevalence of obesity was higher in Costa Rica and Venezuela (29%) and lower in Colombia (16%), stunting was reported higher in Peru (47%) and lower in Argentina (17%), and waist and neck circumferences showed the higher values in Costa Rica (43%) and Chile (52%) and lower values in Colombia (23 and 26%). Conclusion: This study indicates an increasing trend toward overweight and obesity that are associated with lower socioeconomic status, being a woman, and concurs with inadequate intakes of calcium, which may be related to poor quality diet and in the long term could constitute risk factors for the chronic diseases and a health burden to the region.

Keywords: ELANS study; Latin America; health risk; obesity; stunting.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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