Less than 20 years ago, the problem facing Mexico wasn’t an overweight population, but one plagued by hunger. Today, Mexico rivals only the US in the percentage of obese citizens, with a new survey revealing that 71% of Mexican women and 66% of Mexican men are overweight.
Diabetes is now the leading cause of death in Mexico, responsible for roughly 70,000 deaths each year. The rise in obesity has been blamed largely on the proliferation of soft drinks, fast food, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles, three things I’ve always thought of as being “as American as apple pie”– a telling expression.
Mexican health officials fear that, if the current trend continues, Mexico will overtake the United States’ current role as the fattest nation in the world. I can just see Lou Dobbs having a field day with this information: “Mexicans are once again taking a position that should be held by Americans.”
More here, and my apologies to the boys in the photograph.