RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Obesity is a pandemic in Mexico. The purpose of this study was to assess the environmental factors that have the strongest association with obesity and abdominal obesity among adults in Tijuana. METHODS: Four neighborhoods differing in socioeconomic status were chosen. A questionnaire for weekly walking, social cohesion, satisfaction with their community, weekly income, and convenience store, education, family income, crime safety, pedestrian safety, street connectivity, walking/cycling facilities, and sociodemographic characteristics was administered. Weight, height, and waist circumference were measured. Univariate and multivariate binomial logistic regressions were conducted. RESULTS: Three hundred and twenty-two (322) individuals, 70% females with a mean age of 39 years, were assessed. The prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity was 27% and 43.5% respectively. The odds ratio for obesity and abdominal obesity among those living in the lowest-income neighborhood was 2.4 and 7.8 respectively, compared with those living in a middle-class neighborhood. CONCLUSIONS: Residence in a low-income neighborhood was a predictor for obesity.