American Samoa crowned fattest nation

[Stacey King]

Sydney Morning Herald TAMARA MCLEAN December 3, 2009 - 9:44AM AAP

Two South Pacific nations, American Samoa and Kiribati, have been crowned the fattest countries in the world.

The latest obesity report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that 93.5 per cent - more than nine in ten - of American Samoans are overweight or obese.

Kiribati came second on the dubious honours list, with 81.5 per cent of inhabitants tipping the scales.

In third spot was United States with 66.7 per cent, followed by Germany, with 66.5 per cent, and Egypt with 66 per cent.

New Zealand also made an appearance in seventh place, with 62.7 per cent, while the United Kingdom came 10th, with 60 per cent.

Explaining the trend in the Pacific, the WHO said islanders were suffering from a drastic change in diet. Traditionally they ate native foods high in complex carbohydrates and low in fat, such as bananas, yams, taro root, coconut and fish.

But since the Second World War, inhabitants have increasingly migrated to the US, New Zealand, France and Australia, and introduced those back home to fatty Western foods.

In the smaller, less developed countries like Kiribati, which comprises 33 tiny islands clustered around the equator, food imports have fuelled the obesity boom.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation, a United Nations agency established to fight world hunger, estimates food imports to these nations increased six-fold between 1964 and 2001.

This exposed inhabitants to extremely cheap fatty food and processed meat, such as Spam and mutton flaps.

These countries are not alone in their battle, however. Research has shown the world is facing a "globesity" epidemic, with one in three adults now overweight and one in 10 obese.

By 2015, WHO estimates the number of overweight adults will balloon to 2.3 billion, equal to the combined populations of China, Europe and the US.

[Roba]

Its about time for IKiribati to have a balanced diet or become a vegetarian.