Posted by admin on 1/17/13 • Categorized as People

Although the average weight of an adult human is 137 pounds (62 kg) it varies from nation to nation significantly. There are huge difference between slimmest (Bangladesh, 109.33 lb) and fattest country’s (Micronesia, 192.68 lb) people’s body weight. The lightest people live in Asia and the heaviest in Oceania Region and the United States. USA make up only 5% of the world’s population but it accounts for almost a third of the world’s weight due to obesity. In comparison, Asia has 61% of the world’s population but only 13% of the world’s weight. The average human is getting fatter every year and the obesity in the world has more than doubled since 1980. Meet the 10 countries with fattest people on Earth.

10. United Kingdom, 167.1 lb (75.8 kg)

(Image credits: Mike_fleming)

62.8% of Britons adults (aged 16 or over) and 30.3% of children (aged 2-15) are overweight or obese. Obesity has doubled in the UK since the 80′s. This has had an especially notable effect on the 55-64 year old population where 68% of women and 76% of men are overweight or obese. Around one in every 11 deaths in the UK is now linked to carrying excess fat. The situation is not going to change for the better anytime soon. According to a study 7 in 10 women and almost 8 out of 10 men will be overweight or obese by 2020. Not only will people be fatter but the incidence of diabetes, stroke and heart disease will dramatically increase.

9. Croatia, 168.46 lb (76.41 kg)

(Image credits: Marcel Oosterwijk)

Croatia is the second fattest European country. Croatia, where cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death, is also a victim of the globalization of the food market, which tends to suppress traditional diets as cheaper processed foods from the USA and Europe flood store shelves. Unlike other Europeans, Croatian men have higher rates of obesity than Croatian women, and tend to get even fatter as they age. It’s no wonder that a Croatian charity had created the world’s largest pair of jeans — the size of 6 tennis courts — stitched together from 8,023 donated pairs of jeans.

8. Qatar, 169.46 lb (76.87 kg)

(Image credits: the apostrophe)

Qatar has the highest per capita wealth in the world but also is one of the most overweight countries on the planet. In scorching hot and humid temperatures of up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degree Celsius), regular natural exercise such as walking is not a favorite pastime with Qataris embracing an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. In recent years, fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC have also become increasingly dominant, especially in the country’s popular air-conditioned malls. Traditional Qatari practices – such as marrying between family members or cousins – which have been maintained to protect cultural identity are giving rise not only to birth defects and genetic disorders, but also passing the obesity or diabetes gene from one generation to another.

7. Malta – the fattest country in Europe, 169.66 lb (76.96 kg)

(Image credits: kentclark333)

Malta has the highest levels of overweight and obesity in the Europe: 72% of men and 53% of women are overweight or obese. Maltese children are fattest in Europe too. The proportion of overweight or obese children in Malta is 29.5%. No other European country has a proportion above 20%. Urbanization and globalization has claimed another victim – Maltese people have apparently abandoned their traditional healthy diet for the high-fat, high-sugar fast food favored by the United States and many countries in Western Europe.

6. Australia, 170.54 lb (77.36 kg)

(Image credits: Alex E. Proimos)

Australians are growing taller and heavier, with average height up 0.31 of an inch (0.8 of a centimeter) for men and 0,16 of an inch (0.4 of a centimeter) for women since 1995 but at the same time average Australian man has gained 8.6 pounds (3.9 kilograms) and the average Australian woman even 9 pounds (4.1 kilograms.) Obesity rates in Australia have more than doubled over the past 20 years and Australia is now ranked as one of the fattest developed nations. Around 63% of Australians are overweight or obese. Overweight and obesity is more common in men than women (70% versus 56%) and in people aged between 65 and 74 years. If weight gain continues at current levels, by 2025, close to 80% of all Australian adults and a third of all children will be overweight or obese.

5. Kuwait, 171.5 lb (77.79 kg)

(Image credits: miskan)

Kuwait is the second fattest country outside the Oceania. According to a local Arabic daily, there seems to be a significant increase in the catering sector in Kuwait even with the surrounding situation of financial crisis. In addition to the already existing restaurants which have expanded and branched out their business, new restaurants have entered the market which even includes global brands such as McDonald’s. There are 4,783 restaurants operating in Kuwait, one for every 230 people, unlike the Unites States where there’s a restaurant for every 600 people.

4. Samoa, 173.16 lb (78.54 kg)

(Image credits: 黒忍者)

Traditionally, Pacific Islanders ate native foods high in complex carbohydrates and low in fat, such as bananas, coconut, taro root, yams or fish. Since World War II, an explosion of obesity on the islands has corresponded with a rise in migration to the United States, Australia, New Zealand and France. That began to change dietary habits as family members abroad introduced those back home to Western eating and sent money home, giving locals the means to buy more, usually, fat food.

3. United States, 180.62 lb (81.93 kg)

(Image credits: Instant Vantage)

New statistics reveal that 68.8% of adults or 130 million people are overweight or obese in the United States. The number of Americans who are overweight is at the highest level ever recorded. The percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an alarming rate, with 1 out of 3 kids now considered overweight or obese. Many kids are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the computer, video-game console, or TV. If people keep gaining weight at the current rate, fat will be the norm by 2015, with 75% of U.S. adults overweight and 41% obese.

2. Tonga, 192.56 lb (87.34 kg)

(Image credits: The Life of Bryan)

Tonga is notable for its high obesity rates with over 90% of the population being overweight or obese. It is significantly higher than in North America and Europe. Consequently, many Tongan islanders have an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and other obesity related diseases which place the nation’s health service under considerable strain. Much of this is related to the nation’s cultural love of food and eating as well as the modern influx of cheap and high-fat content meat, with corn beef and lamb belly remaining firm favorites in Tongan cuisine. Obesity and its health-related complications are likely to increase as a result of western influences on lifestyle and diet.

1. The Fattest Country in the World – Micronesia, 192.68 lb (87.4 kg)

(Image credits: annamatic3000)

Micronesia was isolated for a long time, but then experienced significant changes in the last years. Especially in the last fifty years, the population has been significantly influenced by the Unites States, particularly in regards to diet and lifestyle. They have been and still are extraordinarily dependent on foreign nations for development and imported food. Now Micronesians are the fattest country in the world. 92% of Micronesians have overweight. Maybe it’s time to change their country’s name to Macronesia?

Main source: The Telegraph

Other sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19