Obesity in Mexico

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Obesity in Mexico in the first decade of the twenty-first century has grown to large proportions, making Mexico the "second fattest" country in the world behind the United States.^[1] As of 2008, surveys suggest that 71% of Mexican women and 66% of Mexican men are overweight, contrasting with the 1989 figure of 10% of Mexicans being overweight, when poverty and hunger were a greater concern.^[1] It has been suggested that Mexicans are acquiring sedentary lifestyle habits from the United States, as well as processed food and food high in fat similar to that found in the United States, with fast food being popular. The problem is exacerbated by issues such as the lack of drinkable water in schools, but the easy availability of soft drinks, with consumption of the latter increasing 60% over a 14-year period of time, and alcohol and tobacco consumption.^[1] As of 2008 statistics show that over 70,000 Mexicans die to diabetes-related illness each year, and government health officials have linked this to the rise in obesity.^[1]

Obesity, whilst once a mark of wealth, can now be a sign of poverty in the inner cities of transitional economies such as Mexico.^[2] Despite this, in rural regions, many are still undernourished rather than overnourished.^[3]