A new report issued by the United Nations shows Mexico has surpassed the United States as a country as having the largest obesity problem in the w...

by Leigh Goessl

Created on: July 12, 2013

A new report issued by the United Nations shows Mexico has surpassed the United States as a country as having the largest obesity problem in the world. While not the highest, Mexico is ranked at the top of the list for heavily populated nations.

According to ABC News, the news came from a new United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization?report that outlined obesity statistics across the globe.

The difference, speaking in numbers, is not by much, but in Mexico, 32.8 percent of adults are now considered to be obese. In the U.S., the rate is listed as 31.8 percent. These figures do not include those people who are merely overweight. Statistics indicated 70 percent of Mexicans were overweight.

The change in lifestyles in Mexico is being attributed to the growth in weight gain statistics. Additionally, less people are working in the farming industry, which is also said to contribute.

"As more Mexicans move from rural to urban communities they become more sedentary and they eat a steady diet of unhealthy, highly caloric foods,? said Martin Binks, an obesity researcher who is a spokesman for the Obesity Society, said the ABC report.

Officials are concerned with this alarming trend. Ironically, malnutrition is one of the largest problems contributing to obesity. Economics also is said to play a role as many people have less access to fish, low grain fats, fruits and veggies. Fast foods and other junk foods, such as chips and other bagged fare, are cheaper to buy and vegetables are very expensive.

"The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming obese," said physician Abelardo Avila with Mexico's National Nutrition Institute, reported Global Post (courtesy of CBS News). "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."

While there is some discrepancy in the actual statistics when compared with data from the World? Health Organization, which uses different analysis methods, the one trend shown in both sets of data is that obesity is a growing issue in all Western nations.

And while the United States and Mexico are considered to have some of the highest statistics when it comes to obesity, they are not at the top of the list. At the top is the island of American Somoa. In this nation, 75 percent of people are obese, with many more being considered to be overweight.

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Obesity skyrockets in Mexico, surpasses US

Source: http://www.helium.com/items/2467871-lifestyle-changes-and-economics-attributed-to-higher-levels-of-obesity-in-mexico

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