Saturday, June 21, 2008

'Australian Bellies Bulge Past America's'

Story here.

The astonishing speed with which Australians are adding weight has enabled the country to clam an unsavory title: fattest country among the world's major economies.

Quietly but surely, more than a quarter of the Australian adult population, 26% of its 15.1 million, has become obese, compared with 25% in the United States, according to a comprehensive survey, titled "Australia’s Future Fat Bomb," released Friday by the Melbourne-based Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute. That would put Australia, a nation associated in the popular imagination with sports and outdoor activity, ahead of America as the world's fattest major country.

The percentage translates into almost 4 million people. Add another 5.4 million Australians who are overweight, and nearly 62% of the Australian adult population is above the threshold of a desirable weight range, a staggering figure. . . .

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