The countries in the world with the highest obesity rates are in order USA, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland. With the exception of Mexico, all the fattest countries have one thing in common – they are English-speaking nations. In fact, the latest OECD report on obesity rates of 33 countries includes 6 English-speaking ones in the top 7, and none in the rest of the list.

Among the ten slimmest countries in the OECD Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development are countries such as Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Austria – a good spread of northern and southern European lifestyles as well as two Asian nations.

Why Are 6 Of Top 7 Fattest Countries English Speaking Ones?

PARIS – Citizens of the world’s richest countries are getting fatter and fatter and the United States is leading the charge, an organization of leading economies said Thursday in its first ever obesity forecast.

Three out of four Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020, and disease rates and health care spending will balloon, unless governments, individuals and industry cooperate on a comprehensive strategy to combat the epidemic, the study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.

Number of fat people in US to grow, report says – Yahoo! News

Fat Thanks to Chami P. for the tip!

It seems like everyone these days – newscasters, past presidents and even the First Lady – is raising awareness about the obesity epidemic. If you haven’t heard the news from one of them, The Biggest Loser premiere sure did blast you with it Tuesday night.

Tara Costa’s Biggest Loser Blog: Stepping Up to Fight Obesity – The Biggest Loser : People.com

New evidence indicates that children who are exposed to a virus called adenovirus-36 are more likely to be obese than those who are not exposed to it, and to be heavier than other obese kids who were not exposed to it, researchers said this week. The virus, known informally as Ad-36, is one of about 55 adenoviruses that are known to cause colds and is the only member of the family to be linked to obesity. But it is one of 10 bacteria and viruses that have been associated with a propensity for putting on plural poundage.

More evidence links a virus to obesity, this time in children – Los Angeles Times

A study of bariatric surgery on California adolescents shows that growing numbers of families are opting for a surgical solution to their children’s obesity. But a study on trends in bariatric surgery among those under 21 shows that, in this population, the surgical weight-loss technique is disproportionately embraced by girls, and by white adolescents in general.

Weight-loss surgery surges among California kids, especially white girls – latimes.com

More sick days and extra gasoline for vehicles cost more for obese people, particularly women. It was observed in this study and previous ones was that obese women make less than skinnier women so increased costs affect them more, something that does not apply to men.

Another Study Shows Obesity Hurts the Pocketbook (CalorieLab Lab Notes)

Chances are slim to none that the U.S. will meet its public health goal of sharply reducing the number of obese adults by this year, according to federal health officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

While just 13 percent of adults were obese in the early 1960s, more than 30 percent were by 1999. In Healthy People 2010, a series of health objectives published in 2000, the U.S. government set forth the goal of reducing the percentage of obese Americans to 15 percent by 2010.

Obesity rates remain ‘disturbingly high’ | Reuters

“I think consumers have been misled into thinking that high-fructose corn syrup is particularly harmful,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. “Chemically it’s essentially the same as sugar. The bottom line is we should be consuming a lot less of both sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.”

In Worries About Sweeteners, Think of All Sugars – NYTimes.com

Is obesity contagious? The surprising news that some obese children are more apt to carry a common cold virus than slimmer children has many people wondering. If the potential link between the adenovirus 36 and childhood obesity turns out to be real, then someday new obesity treatments might be tailored to attack the virus to treat or prevent childhood obesity, an epidemic that affects 17 percent of American children and teenagers.

Is Child Obesity an Infectious Disease? – US News and World Report

“Insurers will cover sleep apnea and diabetes, but not the treatment that could have prevented sleep apnea and diabetes,” two conditions linked to obesity, said Jennifer S. Lee, an emergency room physician at GWU Hospital.

With insurers slow to cover obesity treatment, patients often must foot the bill