US Tops Obesity Population List

A research done by the London School of Hygiene claims that, 'the rising level of fatness around the world could have the same effect on the global resources as an extra billion people'. This research was published in the BMC Public health.

The research clearly states that U.S is single handedly responsible for a third of world's obesity, with 6 percent of the global population existing there. The global population is at 287 million tonnes in which the overweight population brings the number to 15 million tonnes of mass and 3.5 million tonnes exists due to obesity.

As told to BBC news, Prof Ian Roberts, one of the authors of the paper states, "When people think about environmental sustainability, they immediately focus on population. Actually, when it comes down to it - it's not how many mouths there are to feed, it's how much flesh there is on the planet. One of the problems with definitions of obesity is that it fosters a 'them and us' ideal. Actually, we're all getting fatter."

The Scientists have worked on the average global body weight 62kg(137Ib) using the world health Organization statistics from 2005. To their surprise they found a massive regional difference where North America (178lb) was 50lbs heavier than Asians(127Ib).

In the lead with U.S are the developing nations like China that is witnessing the highest growth in obesity.  Followed by India that is getting fat quickly.

The scientists have compiled tables of the heaviest and lightest countries according to their estimates. It was noticed that countries like Eritrea, Vietnam and Ethiopia were at the other end of the scale from the U.S., the researchers state that it is not sufficient to say that being lean is just a factor of poverty. They have titled Japan as a model for others.

Prof Ian says, "One of the most important determinants of average body mass index is motor vehicle gas consumption per capita. So, it is no surprise to see many of the Arab countries in the list - people eat but they move very little because they drive everywhere."

The top five countries listed by the London School of Hygiene study is

U.S (111 million people are overweight), Russia (22 million people are overweight), Egypt (4 million people are overweight), Mexico (4 million people are overweight), Germany (4 million people are overweight).