While there are people who will present things like “facts” and “statistics” that “prove” that the U.S. is no longer the world leader in everything from education to handsome bloggers, I thought that there was still one category that the stars and stripes would have locked up as long as Uncle Sam kept us Super-Sizing everything. I’m speaking, of course, of obesity, and it appears that America can’t even keep its chubby, greasy sausage fingers wrapped around the title of the world’s fattest country anymore.
Instead, Mexico has passed the U.S. on its Rascal scooter to take the top spot, as 32.8 percent of people in Mexico are obese, compared to 31.8 percent in the U.S. Health experts in Mexico claim that the problem is indicative of the increasing difference between the wealthy and the poor, and health problems are only going to get worse for those who can’t afford healthier lifestyles.
“The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming obese,” said physician Abelardo Avila with Mexico’s National Nutrition Institute. “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.”
About 70 percent of Mexican adults are overweight, a third of them very much so. Childhood obesity tripled in a decade and about a third of teenagers are fat as well. Experts say four of every five of those heavy kids will remain so their entire lives. (Via CBS News)
Additionally, diabetes has become an incredible problem in Mexico, with more than 400,000 citizens being diagnosed each year. Of course, the same fast food culprits that we blame on a daily basis are also being blamed in Mexico, as people with less money resort more to cheaper, crappier quality food to keep their appetites content.
But for anyone worried that the U.S. might be getting generally healthier, don’t be too concerned. Our fast food companies are still cranking out the best new ideas for moving our belts down one more notch.
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