Countries by places in the world of obesity. The fattest countries in the world

Americans have lost their lead in the ranking of the most complete nations. Now the first line in the list of "fattest countries" is occupied by Mexico (32.8% obese), whose inhabitants abuse fast food and soda. It is reported by The Daily Mail.

The Americans are in second place.. In terms of the number of obese residents of the country, they lag behind Mexico by only 1%. In third place - the inhabitants of Syria. Venezuela and Libya finished fourth. Trinidad and Tobago closes the top five fat countries.

For the first time, Russia was included in the rating. The Russians, along with the British, share the 19th line of the “fat list”. In Russia, 24.9% of the population is obese, the prevalence of overweight/obesity is 46.5% among men and 51.7% among women.

1. Mexico - 32.8 percent

2. USA - 31.8 percent

3. Syria - 31.6 percent

4. Venezuela, Libya - 30.8 percent

5. Trinidad and Tobago - 30.0 percent

6. Vanuatu - 29.8 percent

7. Iraq, Argentina - 29.4 percent

8. Türkiye - 29.3 percent

9. Chile - 29.1 percent

10. Czech Republic - 28.7 percent

11. Lebanon - 28.2 percent

12. New Zealand, Slovenia - 27.0 percent

13. El Salvador - 26.9 percent

14. Malta - 26.6 percent

15. Panama, Antigua - 25.8 percent

16. Israel - 25.5 percent

17. Australia, St. Vincent - 25.1 percent

18. Dominican Republic - 25.0 percent

19. UK, Russia - 24.9 percent

20. Hungary - 24.8 percent

Mexicans are getting fat fast

Mexico has an embarrassing first place in the ranking of "fattest countries". According to the UN, 70% of Mexican adults are overweight, and a third of them are obese, which leads to a number of serious health problems: heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure, liver disease, depression.

Experts attribute the “obesity epidemic” to sedentary work, the daily consumption of popular Mexican tacos, tamales, quesadillas and American fast food.

Most of all, obesity in Mexico affects the poor and young people who do not adhere to a balanced diet, preferring fast food.

Experts estimate that four out of five overweight children in Mexico will remain overweight for the rest of their lives.

"The worst thing is that children are being programmed to become obese," said Abelarto Avila of Mexico's National Institute of Nutrition.

WHO data on world obesity

Estimated World Organization Globally, approximately 1.5 billion people are overweight and 350 million are obese.

The problem of obesity is relevant even in countries where the majority of the population is constantly hungry, and in industrialized countries it has long been a serious aspect of public health.

This problem concerns all segments of the population, regardless of social and professional affiliation, age, place of residence and gender. Thus, in the countries of Western Europe, overweight is from 10 to 20% of men and from 20 to 25% of women. In some regions of Eastern Europe, the proportion of people suffering from obesity has reached 35%. In Japan, representatives of the society for the study of obesity admitted that the problem of obesity in the country is becoming a tsunami, threatening the health of the nation.

There is an increase in the incidence of obesity in children and adolescents worldwide.

The main cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories ingested and calories expended. On a global scale, the following is happening: an increase in the consumption of high-energy foods that are high in fat, salt and sugars, but low in vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients; a decrease in physical activity due to the increasingly immobile nature of many activities, changes in modes of travel and increasing urbanization.

Changes in diet and physical activity often occur as a result of environmental and social changes associated with development and in the absence of enabling measures in sectors such as health, agriculture, transport, urban planning, environmental protection, food processing, distribution, marketing and education.

Obesity and related diseases are becoming a heavy economic burden on society. In the developed countries of the world, 8-10% of the annual funds allocated for health care are spent on their treatment. This costs the American budget $70 billion a year, while in the UK it costs about £12 million.

Data

Since 1980, the number of obese people worldwide has more than doubled.

In 2008, 35% of people aged 20 and over were overweight and 11% were obese.

65% of the world's population lives in countries where overweight and obesity kill more people than underweight.

In 2010, over 40 million children under the age of 5 were overweight.

Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk factor for death in the world. At least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight and obese. In addition, overweight and obesity are responsible for 44% of diabetes, 23% of coronary heart disease and 7% to 41% of certain cancers.

It is no secret that obesity is the scourge of the modern world: in some countries, the percentage of people suffering from overweight problems reaches a critical point. Unfortunately, the list of 20 such countries also includes Russia - our country occupies 19th place. We bring to your attention a selection of five countries in the world whose citizens are obese, compiled on the basis of a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

1. Mexico - 32.8%

Residents of Mexico suffer from obesity more often than residents of any other country in the world: according to statistics, one in six Mexican adults is overweight, and as a result, many people have diabetes.

A total of 80 million Mexicans are overweight, and a third of them are morbidly obese. Surprisingly, over the past 25 years, the number of obese citizens in Mexico has grown seven times - until recently, such a critical situation was not observed.

It is also surprising that part of the country's population suffers from a lack of food, while the rest of the Mexicans for the most part lead a sedentary lifestyle and abuse fast food and carbonated drinks with a high sugar content. The worst thing is that it seems that children cannot be protected from this problem in any way - four out of five children begin to gain weight at an early age and risk remaining full for the rest of their lives.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced the launch of a national program to combat obesity: he believes that such measures are necessary to improve the health of the nation as a whole, since excess weight means an increase in diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The program includes promoting a healthy lifestyle, exercising daily, replacing high-calorie foods with vegetables and fruits - time will tell how effective it will be, but so far the number of obese Mexicans is growing rapidly.

2. USA - 31.8%

One in three US residents suffer from obesity: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 1970 and 2000, residents began to consume several times more fast food and lemonade than in the middle of the last century.

As a result, 40% of young people and 25% of girls are not fit to serve in the army due to health problems. Even about half of domestic cats in the US are prone to obesity.

On the streets of American cities, you can often see a person 175 cm tall, whose weight is about 250 kg: the largest number of overweight people live in Mississippi, many of them are children under the age of 14 years.

There are many reasons for this situation: we note that many Americans regularly eat at fast food restaurants that sell high-calorie, but cheap food. Now a hamburger at McDonald's weighs 250 g, while 50 years ago its weight did not exceed 60 g.

Moreover, researchers at Princeton University have put forward the theory that frequent consumption of fast food is addictive, similar to addiction to drugs or smoking.

The economic side of the issue is also important: airlines, for example, suffer huge losses associated with excess fuel costs, and company employees often miss work due to health problems. Severe obesity has an impact on performance as well - on average, obese Americans work less efficiently than their fellow citizens with normal weight.

3. Syria - 31.6%

Syria ranks third in the UN obesity ranking - according to the latest data, about a third of the population suffers from obesity, but still the percentage is slightly less than in the previous two countries. The reasons are the same - a sedentary lifestyle and the abuse of fast food.

Most of the inhabitants do not burden themselves with hard physical work, in addition, a very small number of Syrians go in for sports. All these factors have led to an increase in the number of overweight citizens, and every year this number is steadily growing.

4. Venezuela and Libya - 30.8%

Venezuelans say that food is an integral part of their culture: traditional Venezuelan cuisine is rich in "heavy" dishes, and in recent years, a lot of fast food restaurants have opened in this country too, which, like in many other countries of the world, has led to an increase in the number of full of people.

65% of the country's population is overweight, and more than 30% are obese: obesity-related cardiovascular diseases are one of the main causes of death among the population, and many people die before the age of 60 years.

A similar situation is observed in Libya - an abundance of low-quality food leads to obesity, which in turn indirectly causes early mortality.

5. Trinidad and Tobago - 30%

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago completes the top five most "fat" countries in the world: a third of the population suffers from obesity, and approximately 70% of residents are overweight.

Since tourism in Trinidad and Tobago is developing intensively, many eateries appear where not only tourists, but also residents of the country eat - food in such establishments, of course, cannot always be called healthy. The traditional cuisine of the country is rich in pasta dishes, and spicy curry sauce is extremely popular.

Many residents are employed in the tourism sector, where sedentary work is common: in combination with the country's cuisine, this leads to the problems described above. Currently, the authorities do not offer any special program to address this issue, but perhaps in the near future, measures will be taken.

Incredible Facts

According to the data World Health Organization(WHO) Approximately 1.5 billion people are overweight every year, and by 2015 this number will increase to 2.3 billion.

Obesity and overweight are major risk factors for chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

1. American Samoa - 93.5%

A sharp increase in obesity in Samoa and other nations of the southern part of the islands Pacific Ocean largely attributed to massive imports of cheap, processed foods from the US, instead of lighter traditional foods such as bananas, coconuts, yams, taro root and fish.

According to Center for Behavioral Medicine and Sports Psychology, since 1964, imports of high-fat foreign foods have increased by more than 700 percent. The rise in obesity has caused a health crisis with more strokes, diabetes and heart disease.

2. Kiribati, 81.5%

Just as happened to their neighbors in the South Pacific, the islands of Kiribati have become flooded with processed, high-fat foods that are significantly cheaper than local products. At the same time, there is a shortage of fruits and vegetables in the country.

3. USA, 66.7%

The country where fast food was practically invented is the nation with the highest rate of obesity among the developed nations in the world. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention With 72.5 million obese adults in the US in 2007-2008, obesity-related diseases accounted for 27 percent of the increase in medical costs.

Americans suffer from a high number of diseases such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer and premature death. In the US, obesity is closely linked to poverty, where poor people and ethnic minorities suffer the highest levels of obesity.

4. Germany, 66.5%

Germany may be among the richest and most powerful countries in Europe, but people's love of beer and fatty foods, as well as lack of physical activity, have led to high levels of obesity.

In this regard, things have gone so badly in Germany that a study conducted in the country found that in some areas, including security and emergency care, there is a severe shortage of labor, as not enough people are in shape to do their jobs. german newspaper Bild estimated that the annual cost of treating diseases associated with obesity is about 21.7 billion.

5. Egypt, 66%

Apparently, not many overweight Egyptians participated in political protests, but the country has a horrendous obesity problem, especially among women, as a result of taboos placed on the physical activity of women.

Egyptian culture revolves around food, and a lot of it, and the main part of it includes starchy and fatty foods, especially for the poor. But obesity does not make class distinctions. The poor class eat a lot of carbohydrates, including bread, pasta and rice, while the privileged class consume too much meat, sugary and junk food.

6. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 62.9%

One theory claims that unhealthy foods, especially those rich in fat, sugar and additives, are becoming more common during and after the wars that hit the Balkan countries in the early 1990s. This problem is especially acute among children, and not only in Bosnia, but also in other countries of this region of Europe.

7. New Zealand, 62.7%

While this problem has much more affected the indigenous Maori people, who, like other peoples living in the Pacific Islands, preferred Western fast food to local traditional eating habits, obesity is beginning to spread among white New Zealanders.

In 2006, the government launched a campaign to reduce childhood obesity by cutting back on fatty foods and sugary drinks in school cafeterias and limiting junk food advertisements on television.

8. Israel, 61.9%

Although Israel is considered part of the Mediterranean culture, which favors light salads and olive oil, obesity rates here have tripled in the last three decades.

As in much of the Western world, Israelis are increasingly consuming fast food and leading a sedentary lifestyle. Traditional convenience stores with fresh produce have been replaced by huge supermarkets selling processed foods, and vending machines with unhealthy snacks are now in almost every school. In a country where safety comes first, obesity can have a devastating effect.

9. Croatia, 61.4%

As in Bosnia, cheaper processed foods have become the norm in Croatia, replacing traditional healthy foods. Cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of death among Croats. Given that the average Croatian eats about 2,700 calories a day, 700 calories more than the recommended amount, last year the Ministry of Health decided to label healthy foods in stores and eliminate unhealthy food from vending machines by 2012.

10. UK 61%

Obesity in the UK follows much the same pattern as in America: sedentary lifestyles and dependence on processed foods. According to the latest study published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, more people in the UK die of obesity than anywhere else in Europe. One in 11 deaths in the UK is attributable to obesity, 50 percent more than in France.

The number of obese children in the world has grown from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016, more than 10 times. This is stated in a report published on Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Imperial College London.

"The bad news is that the prevalence of obesity among adults (aged 20 years and older) and children and adolescents (5-19 years old) is on the rise in other regions of the world," the report notes. It is emphasized that "the number of obese girls has increased from 5 million in 1975 to 50 million in 2016." The number of overweight boys has also risen from 6 million to 74 million.

As for the adult population of the planet, according to the data cited by experts, the number of overweight ones has also increased among them: over four decades, the growth was from 100 million to 671 million.

WHO urges governments to focus on "reducing the consumption of cheap, over-processed, high-calorie foods." According to the organization, one should also fight to reduce the time children spend in front of TV screens and computers, promote physical activity.

Experts underline that, according to their forecasts, in 2022 the number of children and adolescents with obesity will exceed the number of their peers suffering from malnutrition in the world. However, malnutrition "continues to be a major public health problem." In 2016, there were 75 million girls and 117 million boys worldwide who were underweight for their age.

Below we present the countries whose population is most affected by obesity.

Jordan - 44.6%

Jordan was in first place among the countries whose population suffers from obesity.

There has been a gradual increase in obesity in the population since 1975.

First of all, we are talking about Jordanian women, among whom the percentage of obesity is higher than among men.

Saudi Arabia 43.7%

Conservative Saudi culture is against physical activity for women, but even the most staunch segregationists in the Gulf can't deny that many women's health problems are linked to being overweight and obese.

Here, as in Jordan, women are more obese than men, although this percentage is high among men.

Egypt - 42.5%

As in other Muslim countries, Egypt has a problem of obesity, which especially affects women.

So many Egyptians are partial to fast food and sugary sodas, which leads to health problems and an increase in obesity in the country.

Libya - 41.1%

Libya is also included in the list of countries where a significant proportion of the population suffers from obesity.

As in the case of other countries in the Middle East, a large proportion here is the female population.

The reason for this is simple: in Arab countries, women's mobility is not encouraged, which leads to a sedentary lifestyle and overeating.

South Africa - 41%

With an increasing focus on Western lifestyles, South Africa has become the only sub-Saharan African country with a serious weight problem.

Trends suggest that much of the southern continent will face the challenges of obesity and related diseases in the next two decades.

This all goes hand in hand with the fact why the fast food markets here are so wildly successful.

Cheap, fast and inexpensive food is a significant contributing factor in hectic weight gain trends.

Türkiye - 40.7%

Every fifth inhabitant of Turkey who has reached the age of 15 is obese.

There is also a high percentage of obesity among children. According to the results of the study, among Turkish children aged 7-8, only 2.1% are underweight, while 22.5% are overweight.

In Turkey, obesity among children is increasing every year.

Iraq - 38.3%

Surprisingly, Iraq was also among the countries with a high percentage of the population suffering from obesity.

Here, too, the percentage of obesity among women was higher than among men.

USA - 38.2%

Some US states can "boast" the level of obesity in more than 35% of the population.

There are fewer obese people in other states, but in general it is estimated that two out of every three Americans are overweight.

Nearly 120,000 deaths per year in the US can be attributed to obesity-related causes.

In addition, the cost of medical care for an obese person is $1,429 more per year than for a healthy person.

Algeria - 36.2%

Algeria is another Arab country with a high percentage of obesity among the population.

As in Egypt, this is largely due to a culture that forbids active sports for women, as well as the popularity of fast food in the country.

Syria - 36.1%

Syria ranks 10th in the UN's obesity rating - according to the latest data, about a third of the population suffers from obesity.

The reasons are the same - a sedentary lifestyle and the abuse of fast food.

Most of the inhabitants do not burden themselves with hard physical work, in addition, a very small number of Syrians go in for sports.

All these factors have led to an increase in the number of overweight citizens, and every year this number is steadily growing.

In countries around the world, people's waists are expanding so rapidly that not every study can accurately capture the change. Health experts have even coined the term globesity, which comes from the English global, which means “worldwide” and obesity, meaning “obesity”. Every third adult in the world is overweight, and one in 10 is obese.

Which countries excelled in matters of weight?

So, the fattest nations in the world:

1. USA

Who else could become the leader of this race, except for the USA? The country is a producer of a colossal amount of fats, sugar and oil, which are rich in almost all products produced in the United States. Americans, like true patriots, choose a domestic manufacturer, and therefore already two-thirds of the country's population are the owners of not only national pride, but also excess weight.

This emirate in Southwest Asia is famous for its oil wealth. The well-fed life of the entire population is conducive to increasing in size. Due to the fact that Kuwait is a Muslim country, European skinny ideals of beauty are not so in demand there.

3. Croatia

It would seem, what does Croatia have to do with it? However, Croatia has become a victim of the globalization of the food market, which has led to the suppression of traditional diets by cheaper and lower quality food products from the United States.

Little Qatar, which is not immediately found on the map, is distinguished by a high percentage of overweight people. The causes of obesity in the population of Qatar are exactly the same as in Kuwait.

At one time, Egypt produced enough food to feed its people on a sustainable diet moderate in essential foods. But by 1980, the population had outgrown food production, which led to an increase in food imports and worsened the eating habits of the inhabitants of this country.

Worst Nations in the World:

1. North Korea

We've all heard horror stories echoing through the Iron Curtain. North Korea. A country living in extreme poverty simply cannot suffer from being overweight.

1. Cambodia

One of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia is still struggling to recover from the aftermath of the civil war. The population of Cambodia survives through work in foreign clothing factories and tourism.

1. Burundi

This African country is the poorest in the world. More than half of Burundi's population lives below the poverty line

1. Nepal

Nepal is also one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. The unemployment rate in the country reaches 50%.

1. Democratic Republic of the Congo

In terms of poverty, it is slightly higher than Burundi. The civil war undermined the strength of the country, and at the moment its GDP is the second in the world from the end. Thus, GDP is lower than in the Democratic Republic of the Congo only in Zimbabwe.