Fat world: World's most obese nations

While it is no surprise the US remains the home of the most overweight and obese adults, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Canada are not falling far behind with...

On September 23, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released their report Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit not Fat, ranking the fattest and fittest nations.



While it is no surprise the US remains the home of the most overweight and obese adults, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Canada are not falling far behind with all having populations exceeding 60 per cent overweight.



Look to Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia and China for thinner adults (1-4 per cent obese). Nonetheless obesity is rapidly becoming a global epdidemic.

Obesity

When it comes to children (11 years old) Indonesia, Slovak Republic, Turkey and India have 10 per cent or less overweight and obese whereas the US, Scotland, Spain and Italy have a growing epidemic of overweight children (33-35 per cent).

According to the WHO "by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight, more than 700 million will be obese and 20 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight globally in 2005."

The WHO explains how you can cut your portion of the world's fat:
- achieve energy balance and a healthy weight
- limit energy intake from total fats and shift fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fats
- increase consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts
- limit the intake of sugars
- increase physical activity (at least 30 minutes of regular, moderate-intensity activity on most days. More activity may be required for weight control)