Guess what country has the highest obesity rate? Most people would mistakenly name the United States. The study at Baker Heart Institute showed Australia has a higher proportion of obese people than the US. According to scientists, 4 millions of Australians (26% of population) are overweight. The US obesity rate is 25%.
The Daily Telegraph reports 70 percent of men and 60 percent of women in Australia aged 45-65 have a Body Mass Index over 18.5-25 normal range. This means that supposedly active and athletic nation is sitting on a “ticking fat bomb”. The study named Australia’s Future Fat Bomb involved over 14 000 adult Australians.
Excessive weight is among major risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Simon Stewart, a heart expert, predicted 125 000 Australians might die from obesity-caused diseases over the next 20 years.
Yet, Australians are not the fattest nation in the world. According to World Health Organization, the people of Nauru island in the Pacific Ocean are the fattest with 94.5 percent of population suffering from obesity. At least 90 percent of population is overweight in the Federated States of Micronesia (the country in Oceania), Niue (an island in Polynesia) and in Tonga (island kingdom in South-West Pacific).
