RESUMEN
Resumen La lactancia materna se considera una estrategia primordial en la promoción de la salud y prevención de la enfermedad. En este documento se abordan aspectos que hacen evidente la importancia de la lactancia materna para la salud de la madre y su hijo, y el papel de los profesionales de la salud para promover, proteger y apoyar la lactancia materna. Se presenta un panorama epidemiológico de la lactancia en México, los principales constituyentes de la leche, los beneficios de amamantar, tanto para el bebé como para la madre, las barreras y mitos que de alguna manera influyen en la lactancia materna, los principales problemas de la lactancia materna y cómo resolverlos, los pasos propuestos y la técnica para lograr una lactancia exitosa y promover una cultura de lactancia materna.
Abstract Breastfeeding is considered a primary strategy in health promotion and disease prevention. This document addresses aspects that make evident the importance of breastfeeding for the health of the mother and her child, and the role of health professionals to promote, protect and support breastfeeding. An epidemiological panorama of breastfeeding in Mexico is presented, the main constituents of milk, the benefits of breastfeeding, both for the baby and for the mother, the barriers and myths that somehow influence breastfeeding, the main problems of breastfeeding and how to solve them, the proposed steps and the technique to achieve successful breastfeeding and promote a culture of breastfeeding.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Neck circumference (NC) has been used for screening overweight/obesity for its high correlation with age, weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC). Cut-offs should be population specific. The aim of the study was to obtain cut-offs of NC for overweight/obesity in Mexican adolescents and to correlate them with anthropometric indicators. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Weight, height, BMI, NC, WC, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) of 465 12-14-year-old Mexican-mestizo students attending a public school in Mexico City were assessed. Using receiver operating characteristics analyses, neck cut-offs were obtained according to the WHO age and sex criteria for overweight/obesity. RESULTS: NC cut-offs with the highest sensitivity and specificity for males and females, respectively, were as follows: 30.0 and 29.3 cm for 12-year-olds; 31.9 and 30.4 cm for 13-year-olds; and, 33.5 and 30.7 cm for 14-year-old adolescents. Overweight/obesity was identified with NC cut-offs in 80% of males and 86% of females, and showed significant correlations (p < 0.01) in males and females with weight (r = 0.821 and r = 0.840, respectively), BMI (r = 0.649 and r = 0.819, respectively), WC (r = 0.710 and r = 0.813, respectively) and MUAC (r = 0.736 and r = 0.815, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Neck circumference may be used as a first-stage screening tool or jointly with BMI to identify overweight/obesity in 12-14-year-old Mexican adolescents.
