Australia is now the world's fattest nation, with 26% of adults labeled obese, a new report said Friday. The report, titled ''Australia's Future Fat Bomb'' was undertaken by the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, and revealed that some 4 million Australian adults are now classified as obese. The alarming new figures mean the nation has officially overtaken the United States, which has a 25% obesity rate.

According to the report, some 1.5 million middle-aged Australians are currently obese, a figure the report predicts will result in an additional 700,000 cardiovascular-related hospital admissions in the next 20 years.

The report proposed a number of recommendations to curb the nation's expanding waistlines, including a national weight loss strategy similar to the high-profile smoking and skin cancer campaigns and the subsidizing of gym memberships.

"If we ran a fat Olympics, we'd be gold medal winners as the fattest people on earth at the moment," Institute preventative cardiology head Professor Simon Stewart told the Age newspaper.

While the report said Australia had overtaken the United States as the fattest nation on the planet, recent U.S. studies show around 34% of Americans are overweight or obese.

In all, there are currently 1.6 billion overweight adults in the world, a number that is expected to grow by 40% over the next decade, according to the World Health Organization.

Nutrition expert Rosemary Stanton said Australia needs to take urgent action to address growing obesity and re-think failed health messages.

"We've got to somehow or other get a message across. We've got to start taking this very seriously, rather than just talking about it," Stanton said, pointing the finger at "huge resistance" in the processed and fast food industries.

The report proposed a number of recommendations to curb the nation's expanding waistlines, including a national weight loss strategy similar to the high-profile smoking and skin cancer campaigns and the subsidizing of gym memberships.

The findings, which will be presented at a government inquiry into obesity, have drawn a sharp reaction from Health Minister Nicola Roxon, who labeled the results ''staggering.''

Speaking to reporters in Canberra, Roxon said the fight against obesity is a national priority and the government hopes to have an effective nationwide strategy in place within the next 12 months.

© Wire reports