Mexico City, Feb 8 (EFE).- The average Mexican man weighs 74.8 kilograms (165 pounds) and stands 1.64 meters (5 feet 4 1/2 inches) tall, while the median figures for Mexican women are 68.7 kilos (151 pounds) and 1.58 meters (5 feet 2 inches), according to a study released by a group representing Mexico's clothing industry.
The study entitled "How big is Mexico? Size does matter," was released by Conaive, with data gathered from 17,364 adults.
According to the leaders of the business organization, Mexico is the first Latin American country to carry out a study of the average weight and height of its population.
They said that to conduct the analysis, which was completed with the support of the Mexican economy ministry, a statistically valid sample of the population was taken by the National Geography and Computing Institute in four areas of the country.
Just over 49 percent of the 17,364 people measured were men and the rest were women. It took researchers 20 minutes to take the various measurements for each person and the fieldwork was performed from Oct. 19, 2010, through June 15, 2011.
The study found that among women 18-25 the average weight was 62.9 kilos while men in that age group averaged 70.4 kilos. The average height for young women was 1.61 meters versus 1.67 for young men.
The heaviest group of men, on average, were in the 40-50 age range, with an average of 77.3 kilos, while women of that age group were also the heaviest, averaging 72.2 kilos.
The figures released on Wednesday do not include data from other countries, but if these averages are compared with Mexico's northern neighbor, Mexicans are shorter than Americans and they weigh about 10 kilos less, on average.
According to official figures released in 2008, the average American male over age 20 stands 1.76 meters tall and weighs 88.3 kilos, while the average women in the neighboring country is 1.62 meters tall and weighs 74.7 kilos.
But, curiously, according to the same data, Americans of Mexican origin weigh more than their relatives back home.
Among women standing 1.58 meters tall in both countries, Mexican-Americans weighed an average of 73.6 kilos - 5 kilos more than their compatriots south of the border.
And among men, although Mexican-Americans are an average of 6 centimeters taller, they weigh 81.9 kilos, on average, 7 kilos more than Mexicans in their home country.
Upon presenting the study, Conaive president Marcos Cherem said that it will allow the health authorities to determine the prevalence of obesity among Mexicans.
He also said that it will contribute toward fostering among the public a culture of prevention regarding becoming overweight.
