Abstract

VIZCARRA-BORDI, Ivonne  and  MARIN-GUADARRAMA, Nadia. La obesidad en la resignificación de identidades infantiles indígenas en edad escolar en México: el caso de los pueblos Mazahua y Otomí. Perspectiva [online]. 2013, vol.31, n.03, pp.777-809. ISSN 0102-5473.

In Mexico, childhood obesity is a highly public health problem related to the consequences of globalization and the agri-food market. This situation has reached Mazahua and Otomí indigenous children who are experiencing a constant reformulation of their ethnic, local and family contexts intrinsically intertconnected with the globalization process that bring social inequality as a result. In order to understand how have indigenous children’s identities been reformulated, this article presents a study about the contexts in which children experience their daily life along with the gender, ethnicity, poverty and body variables. A qualitative methodology was used with additional statistical data gathered in two indigenous communities: Mazahua and Otoni. The conclusion is that gender as well as the feeling of belonging to an ethnic community and to a situation of poverty causes discrimination and stigmatization toward the indigenous children. Thus, it is incorrect to give complete responsibility to mothers and the children themselves about their nutritional conditions, since their decisions in relation to food are determined by the government, by national and international non-profit organizations, as well as by global and national food companies.

Keywords : Obesity; Childhood; Identity.

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