Juan A Rivera, PhD,(1) Laura M Irizarry, MS,(1) Teresa González-de Cossío, PhD.(1) presented to government authorities responsible for the formulation of nutrition and health policies and to other key actors in charge of the design and management of nutrition related programs. Given the severity of the implications of the multiple nutrition issues facing the population these results set in motion various public actions, including policies, and programs for preventing malnutrition. Although an emphasis was placed in attending to undernutrition issues, overweight and obesity also became a concern to policy makers and the population at large. 8-21

The Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006 (ENSANUT 2006) builds upon the 1988 and 1999 surveys, capturing the evolution of the nutritional status of the Mexican population over an 18 year period. It should be noted that for the first time, representative data at the State level and for all age groups was collected in this survey, what will facilitate the evidence necessary for the development of strategic policies and programs in the future. This paper presents an overview of the nutritional status of the population in the last two decades and discusses the most relevant findings of the ENSANUT 2006. Presented in several articles in this special journal issue and elsewhere, the findings discussed evaluate the determinant factors of both undernutrtion and overnutrition in the context of the double burden of disease over time, and their implications looking ahead.