According to a new report by United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, the United States is no longer the world's fattest developed nation--Mexico is.
Nearly a third of Mexican adults (32.8 percent) are considered obese?people aged 20 and older whose body mass index (BMI) is 30 and above. That edges the United States, where 31.8 percent of American adults are considered obese.
Syria at 31.6 percent, is the third fattest among developed countries, while Venezuela and Libya are tied for fourth at 30.8 percent.
Mexico's urban lifestyle and rising income levels, coupled with malnourishment among the country's poor, have helped it claim this unhealthy title.
?The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming obese,? Abelardo Avila, a physician with Mexico's National Nutrition Institute, told the Global Post. ?In the poor classes we have obese parents and malnourished children. The worst thing is the children are becoming programmed for obesity. It's a very serious epidemic.?
Diabetes kills an estimated 70,000 people a year in Mexico?"or roughly equal to the deaths authorities say are caused by more than six years of the country's gangland wars," the Post noted.
About 12 percent of the world's total population is obese, according to the U.N. report.
The world's fattest nation overall is Nauru, a South Pacific island where a staggering 71.1 of its 10,000 inhabitants are obese.
The report does not include data for American Samoa which have been tabbed as fattest in the past.Nearly all of that Pacific island's inhabitants (95 percent) are considered overweight.
On the other end of the scale is Japan, the thinnest developed country. Just 4.5 of Japanese adults are considered obese, the U.N. says.
Prevalence of obesity among adults in developed countries
1 Mexico
2 United States
3 Syria
4 Venezuela
5 Libya
6 Trinidad & Tobago
7 Vanuatu
8 Iraq
9 Argentina
10 Turkey
11 Chile
12 Czech Republic
13 Lebanon
14 New Zealand
15 Slovenia
16 El Salvador
17 Malta
18 Panama
19 Antigua
20 Israel
21 Australia
22 Saint Vincent
22 Dominica
23 United Kingdom
24 Russia
25 Hungary
Nearly a third of Mexican adults (32.8 percent) are considered obese?people aged 20 and older whose body mass index (BMI) is 30 and above. That edges the United States, where 31.8 percent of American adults are considered obese.
Syria at 31.6 percent, is the third fattest among developed countries, while Venezuela and Libya are tied for fourth at 30.8 percent.
Mexico's urban lifestyle and rising income levels, coupled with malnourishment among the country's poor, have helped it claim this unhealthy title.
?The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming obese,? Abelardo Avila, a physician with Mexico's National Nutrition Institute, told the Global Post. ?In the poor classes we have obese parents and malnourished children. The worst thing is the children are becoming programmed for obesity. It's a very serious epidemic.?
Diabetes kills an estimated 70,000 people a year in Mexico?"or roughly equal to the deaths authorities say are caused by more than six years of the country's gangland wars," the Post noted.
About 12 percent of the world's total population is obese, according to the U.N. report.
The world's fattest nation overall is Nauru, a South Pacific island where a staggering 71.1 of its 10,000 inhabitants are obese.
The report does not include data for American Samoa which have been tabbed as fattest in the past.Nearly all of that Pacific island's inhabitants (95 percent) are considered overweight.
On the other end of the scale is Japan, the thinnest developed country. Just 4.5 of Japanese adults are considered obese, the U.N. says.
Prevalence of obesity among adults in developed countries
1 Mexico
2 United States
3 Syria
4 Venezuela
5 Libya
6 Trinidad & Tobago
7 Vanuatu
8 Iraq
9 Argentina
10 Turkey
11 Chile
12 Czech Republic
13 Lebanon
14 New Zealand
15 Slovenia
16 El Salvador
17 Malta
18 Panama
19 Antigua
20 Israel
21 Australia
22 Saint Vincent
22 Dominica
23 United Kingdom
24 Russia
25 Hungary