Traditional regional cuisine: the change in eating habits and the increase in overweight and obesity in the inhabitants of Escuinapa, Sinaloa

Abstract

This article aims to show how the change in eating habits has resulted in weight gain in the inhabitants of the municipality of Escuinapa, Sinaloa, Mexico. With data obtained from interviews with households in Escuinapa, a generational comparison of food preferences and practices in which food is involved at all social levels was carried out. The findings suggest that eating habits in Escuinapa have shifted towards a diet away from traditional regional cuisine, causing an increase in the number of people who are overweight and obese. In addition, it was obtained as a result that people older than 56 years cook and eat traditional regional food in a greater proportion than the rest of the population. The age group of 15 to 35 years is the one who prefers to consume a greater quantity of processed foods. In the gender analysis, it is found that it is women who are mostly in charge of preparing food and who are mostly overweight and obese. Lastly, it is concluded that traditional regional cuisine is consumed and produced less and less, and that, although it is not a determining factor that explains the rates of overweight and obesity in Escuinapa, its practice and consumption does turn out to be a preventive measure of these problems.