Samoa Tops List of Fattest Countries

Also, Samoa is a US territory, so...yay?
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 27, 2009 1:05 PM CST
Samoa Tops List of Fattest Countries
A resident is photographed walking around downtown Lexington, Miss.   (AP Photo)

From Pacific islands to Eastern Europe, the world is fat. The cause is the same almost everywhere, Laurie Cunningham writes for Global Post: increased access to processed foods and sedentary lifestyles. The top victims of "globesity:"

  1. American Samoa: Percentage of population that's overweight: 93.5. The tiny Pacific nation's traditional diet of "foods high in complex carbohydrates and low in fat" fell apart when Western dietary habits intruded.

  1. Kiribati: Population 81.5% overweight. Another island Pacific nation, where "Spam and mutton flaps" undercut native foodstuffs in price.
  2. US: Population 66.7% overweight:. We reap (and eat) what we sow, naturally. Farm subsidies lead to "over-production of oil, fat and sugar," for export and domestic consumption.
  3. Germany: Population 66.5% overweight. "Beer, fatty foods and lack of physical activity"—ounds fantastic, but there's a price.
  4. Egypt: Population 66% overweight. Again, processed foods and unhealthy Western exports supplant a more balanced traditional diet.
For the full list, click here.
(More obesity stories.)

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