Mexico now the 2nd fattest country, after U.S.

[Mugu]

By Franco Ordonez, McClatchy Newspapers

MEXICO CITY — Fueled by the rising popularity of soft drinks and fast-food restaurants, Mexico has become the second fattest nation in the world. Mexican health officials say it could surpass the U.S. as the most obese country within 10 years if trends continue.

More than 71 percent of Mexican women and 66 percent of Mexican men are overweight, according to the latest national surveys.

With diabetes now Mexico's leading cause of death, activists and leaders hope to renew efforts to crack down on junk food and other fatty-food consumption and encourage citizens to exercise more. But it will be a tough battle, as industry groups are expected to put up a fight.

No one knows better the country's affection for fattening foods than Lidia Garcia Garduno , who's run a fruit stand in central Mexico City for the past 10 years.


Complete article at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080324/wl_mcclatchy/2886854;_ylt=AsycvEWzFS_9JA1grnKg456s0NUE

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. We're still #1 at something!

:woohoo:

[Skittles]

14. I tell you, Rummy

when that little guy from Japan wins the hotdog-eating contest, it is a national DISGRACE. :o

[Ikonoklast]

2. Mexicans are eating the fast food Americans don't want

Soon we'll have to import fat people as we lose our #1 status in the world of obesity.

I hope the Chinese start eating more, or I don't know where in the world we'll be able to get our chubbies cheaper.

Another sad day for Murka.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. This reminds me of my nephew

Virginia Soriano , 35, said it was difficult teaching her children good eating habits when they were flooded with advertising for fatty foods. Naomi, her daughter, says her favorite things to eat are McDonald's Chicken McNuggets and Coca-Cola. The 6-year-old sometimes pushes away her dinner plate if it has too many vegetables, Soriano said.

He is a classic american kid, and lord knows he hates his veggies but will finish a full kid's meal at Burger King, and its not like mom doesn't know better, since she is a dietitian...

That said... I grew up down there. Our customary desert was fruit, as in fresh fruit. We loved to eat typical mexican food, which included a lot of vegetables and fruit, and our snacks were jicama or other veggies with chilie and lemon

I compare that to my niece who came to visit. She loves Maruchan soups, widely available these days, and other junk food. She is not even slightly fat since she plays quite a bit of soccer, but once she stops doing that... she will balloon up and I can count on it.

What I ate when growing up and what she's offered is so different it is not even funny, Hell, soda... it was available at home for special occasions, To her, it is available all the time.

I see the differences in eating habits

Hell, when we got our first ALS rig in Tijuana we joked that we got it right on time. You see the first Burger King opened a week later

Oh and these days I have to watch what I eat... for health reasons... so when I go visit I try to keep my diet as rich in veggies as I can.

[SoCalDem]

4. HFCS, combined with their local diets is deadly

They eat a lot of corn products and starches..combined with the fast foods, and it's not surprising.. and they are people of shorter stature, so every pound has a bigger impact..:(

Latin countries are notorious for giving their children LOTS of sweets too.. When I traveled there and lived in Central America, there were always LOTS of little kids with stainless steel capped baby teeth..

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. The local diet is not the problem

the problem is that people have moved away from the typical died, I see that with my niece

Beans and tortillas, for instance, make a full protein... and squash and hot peppers, such as Serranos, give you all the vitamins you want

As to the candy, again, it used to be that you were given candy for a SPECIAL occasion... we got candy for birthdays, and when we went on vacation to Acapulco... and it was tamarind candy. These days kids are fed all kinds of junk food.

Though this should not have shocked anybody who had been paying attention, I remember, I and my medical director talking the IMSS director in Tijuana after B. King opened, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are going to rocket

Why?

Native American people NORTH of the border have those problems right now. Genetically our population is very similar, and we showed her studies of Yaqui people. North of the Rio Grande the rates were very high, while south of the rio grande they were rare...

This was in the early 1990s, in fact around 1990. Did they listen... nope, it snuck in.., right.

And yes, it is a health care crisis but not of larger proportions than here. We just don't speak about it.

[MichaelHarris]

6. I don't care

they can have my tostada when they pry it from my cold dead fingers.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Its not the tostada that's the problem

it is the coca cola or pepsi or jarrito you use to wash it down with.

It is the gamesa cookies for desert, instead of fruit... the McDonnalds combo meal you had for lunch.

It is the fact that you no longer eat your fruit, and damn it, that tostada could go great with some black beans tomatoes and queso fresco insterad of some of the things added these days.

It is the fact that you no longer exercise as much.

Oh and the fact that we are not talking one tostada, or perhaps two, but three, four and five of them in one seating, with two or three coca colas and little else.

That is the problem.

And yes I ATE tostadas when growing up... I love them. I still eat them when I go home... as well as Chilaquiles which I also prepare at home.

All in moderation.

And you may not care, but right now diabetes care is truly taxing the health system in ways that are similar to the US system, except with less resources...

Yep, we got them ALS rigs and training just in time!

[MichaelHarris]

15. If I had to actually

buy a tostada and taco combo hunting license, purchase the right gun, camp out in places where tacos hide I'm still eating Mexican food!

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Nobody is telling you not to

just like nobody is telling you TO AVOID MCDONNALDS every day.

It is the AMOUNT that is consumed... not the TYPE of food

I could make the case that Mickey Ds is actually addicting... (yes some folks have made that argument) but the amount of food consumed

My sis volunteered as a dietitian in a border town.

Her patients were all overweight kids.

What did they eat for lunch?

Ten tortillas, beans and a big regular soda.

Now that is the equivalent of ten slices of bread (the tortillas that is), another five slices with the beans, and about 500 calories from the soda

That is the problem.

Two tortillas, some beans, some cheese and WATER, followed by some play outside would have been great and go a long way in controlling their weight and diabetes.

Now, granted, it is easier to find the soda than water in the colonias and the diet soda is more expensive than the regular soda, another thing not covered in the story..

I also checked your profile and I know you are not from Mexico.... but that is a whole different matter

As I said, I had a front row seat when some of us TRIED to warn the health authorities this was coming. I am not shocked, just saddened.

[JI7]

7. so in America more than 71 percent women and 66 percent men are overweight ?

is this true ?

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Yes

scary statistics huh?

And Diabetes should be the number one killer

Just that we are told it is stroke and heart attacks. If I got one tonight and passed, they would never attribute it to my diabetes.

[JI7]

10. i'm in los angeles and everyone seens thin to me

but most of the women do smoke to stay thin.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Go to oh S. Carolina, Hawaii

outside of LA... hell come down to San DIego... and you will see it...

Also our PERCEPTION of what is overweight and what is overweight has changed. You see, somebody who is oh 20 pounds overweight, doesn't seem overweight anymore. Never mind they are...

Also where in LA are you in?

Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive (as well as a couple other areas of the city, such as the Valley) tend to be "thinner" just as La Jolla tends to be thinner here in San Diego as well.

As a former Medic in Tijuana I saw it ... both with the native population, and our American Tourists. Hell, you can even see it in a very silly place, the hospital. The wheelchairs have gotten larger. I thought it was my imagination until I ordered one for my dad, after he fell and broke his hip. Oh and Ambulance Gurneys are also larger than they used to

[JI7]

12. yes, that is true

i work in a beach area so i know that has a lot to do with it. but the over 70 percent still seemed high.

although even in los angeles and other areas it' snot healthy if people are smoking to stay thin.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Yeah you work in a "thin" area

You'd not find me at a beach... for many reasons

Chiefly sun and skin don't mix... but people who are ahem, larger, tend to stay away from them due to social pressures

As to the smoking anecdotally I suspect LA has a higher rate... but I would have to find actual data