Mexico Now World's Most Populous, Obese Nation

Statistics show that the United States no longer holds the title for world's most populous, obese nation. Mexico has now taken that spot, with almost 70 percent of Mexican adults overweight or obese.

Similar findings also show that childhood obesity has tripled in the past 10 years and one-third of teenagers are also obese in Mexico, according to CBS News.

Health experts believe the spike in obesity rates is linked to nearly 50 percent of the population in Mexico living below the poverty line, and thus, having to live on fast food and soda, which can cause malnourishment. Statistics show that 32.8 percent of adults in Mexico are now obese, compared to the U.S.'s 31.8 percent.

"The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming obese," said Dr. Abelardo Avila, a physician with Mexico's National Nutrition Institute, according to CBS. "In the poor classes we have obese parents and malnourished children. The worst thing is the children are becoming programmed for obesity. It's a very serious epidemic."

Medical Daily notes that weight-related diabetes accounts for almost 70,000 deaths each year in Mexico, and more than 400,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.

The obesity epidemic for Mexico continues to grow as many move from rural to urban areas where more sedentary lifestyles occur with less physically-intensive jobs and growing prices can lead to unhealthy eating patterns for the poor.

"The result is that for many Mexicans, particularly in urban areas or in the northern states, switching to healthier diets is becoming increasingly difficult," UN expert Olivier de Shutter says in a report on Mexican agriculture and nutrition issued two years ago.