Weird top 10 list-nations with most obesity

_chiaroscuro

I was reading a not-so-great article on Yahoo News about Mexico edging out the U.S. for the highest obesity rate.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/america-fattest-obese-un-144341236.html

What struck me was a U.N. report on the list of developed nations who struggle most with this. Here's just the top ten and their obesity rates:
1 Mexico 32.8
2 United States 31.8
3 Syria 31.6
4 Venezuela 30.8
4 Libya 30.8
6 Trinidad & Tobago 30.0
7 Vanuatu 29.8
8 Iraq 29.4
8 Argentina 29.4
10 Turkey 29.3

There are varieties of cultures, lifestyles, and cuisines represented here, and yet they are dealing with the same problem. I don't know, I guess I thought I'd see a more apparent, gravy-soaked, deep-fried common thread here but I don't. Any theories? Because strangely enough Yahoo News didn't explore any. /sarcasm

Achrya

A lot of people eat too much.

....yeah, I got nothing beyond that.

_chiaroscuro

A lot of people eat too much.

....yeah, I got nothing beyond that.

Right? I just figured it would be the U.S., U.K., Canada by way of poutine, etc. This really surprised me.

norrisski

Wealthy breeds over eating. When you don't have to burn calories to obtain food, then weight goes up. That is just my theory for what it is worth.

Koldnomore

I was reading a not-so-great article on Yahoo News about Mexico edging out the U.S. for the highest obesity rate.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/news/america-fattest-obese-un-144341236.html

What struck me was a U.N. report on the list of developed nations who struggle most with this. Here's just the top ten and their obesity rates:
1 Mexico 32.8
2 United States 31.8
3 Syria 31.6
4 Venezuela 30.8
4 Libya 30.8
6 Trinidad & Tobago 30.0
7 Vanuatu 29.8
8 Iraq 29.4
8 Argentina 29.4
10 Turkey 29.3

There are varieties of cultures, lifestyles, and cuisines represented here, and yet they are dealing with the same problem. I don't know, I guess I thought I'd see a more apparent, gravy-soaked, deep-fried common thread here but I don't. Any theories? Because strangely enough Yahoo News didn't explore any. /sarcasm

The rest have rice, bread, beans as staples.. given the lower income of many of those countries affordable food is going to be high in carbs, oils, fats and calories and fresh fruits/veggies are going to be reserved for the upper classes - at least that's my take on it.

DragonSquatter

The "why" question is a really complex one that has to do with a whole lot of factors: subsidies for cheap high-calorie foods, inflated portion sizes, lack of physical activity, too much eating out, marketing, etc. It's a giant mess of a problem.

This article was a nice simple explanation.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/08/16/why-were-so-fat-whats-behind-the-latest-obesity-rates

There is no one "demon food" or policy that is driving this. It's a whole host of things, which is why it's a complicated problem.

I just find it very very sad that my generation is so fat and that our life expectancy may go DOWN instead of up because of it.

blah2989

Maybe the just make bomb food!!!

vienna_h

Obviously, there are a lot of factors to consider, there`s no obvious trend.

As a Canadian, I am surprised Canada didn`t make the list... I guess we have more of an overweight problem than an obesity problem? And no one eats that`s much poutine, even in Québec where it`s originally from, it`s not anyone`s staple diet, its an occasion Junk food indulgence, that`s all. The biggest difference between Canada and the US is portion sizes... an american `small` is a Canadian `extra large`!

Not surprised to see Mexico at the top of the list though. Mexico and a lot of the Latin American countries that are becoming wealthier seem to be comsuming every more Junk food instead of putting their money towards healthier nutrient dense food. The poor depend more and more and packaged processed food, and the rich just eat more of it, it seems. That`s my observation from traveling a lot in Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia.

ldrosophila

Hmmmm I wonder what are the patterns? How are they agriculturally similar/disimialr? How about the markets? Is there a cultural ideal/biases? Some sort of similar genetics? What about the family values of a home cooked meal vs. going out to eat? Maybe it's just really damn good tasty food? Are these countries sort of heterogenous or sort of gates to a bunch of different people interacting? Another thought I know US and Mexico use a lot of MSG in cooking could that be a possibility? This makes me want to write a grant and get some sort of funding to travel the world and look for patterns in these countries.

_chiaroscuro

Crap, I couldn't get into that article Dragon. And yes it's a sobering thought, to think of younger generations living fewer years. Heartbreaking.

These are all interesting replies. My first instinct is to look for the pattern and I was like bleah, I got nothin'. I spent a little time in Trinidad and Tobago, and found a diet that consisted of lots of fresh fruit and a combination of dishes with East Indian or African roots. The fact that they'd have a similar obesity rate as my country baffles me. I guess I find this unsettling because I wanted it to be a simple answer and clearly it's more complicated than I imagined.

And j/k about the poutine. It's low-hanging fruit, or fries rather.

Mayrose2

Yep, I am from Trinidad and it is true. One of our main problems is that there are too many fast foods in my country. Our country is open for just about any fast food restaurant you could think of. Food businesses thrive in Trinidad.

misskerouac

Like Vienna said, I'm surprised we aren't on there (canada) as well as the U.K.
I would expected those two to be on there for sure.