The world’s fattest countries

Credit: Paul Ellis/AFP

When most people picture the South Pacific they imagine healthy, tanned Hula dancers swaying to the strains of a ukulele — and maybe Jeff Probst. The reality, however, is significantly fatter.

South Pacific islands dominate Global Post's list of the world's fattest countries — largely due to the collective memory of leaner times and a cultural preference for fatty frames. In island nations where food shortages only recently became a thing of the past, excess weight is often seen as a sign of health.

Like in some African cultures, peoples of the South Pacific often view excess weight as a sign of beauty, wealth and privilege. The world's fattest nation, the South Pacific island of Nauru, historically held fattening ceremonies in which young women were confined and fed disproportionately. The island did this not to its poor women but to those born to prominent families — the reverse of what is seen today in Western nations such as The United States where the poorest tend to be the most obese.

The list uses 2010 data from the World Health Organization (WHO). A person was considered overweight if their body mass index (BMI), a number based on the ratio between height and weight, was over 25.

And while two Americans recently showed that you can actually lose weight eating U.S. favourites such as Twinkies and potatoes, the nation that invented fast food continues to be only major Western country to crack the top ten.

Global Post also points to the trends toward urbanization and non-physical labour as major contributors to the global obesity epidemic. Eating more calorie-dense foods rich in fat, sugar and salt while moving less is one reason why the WHO projects the number of overweight adults will skyrocket from 1.6 billion in 2005 to 2.3 billion by 2015.

Other notable nations that made the top 25 include Mexico (73 per cent overweight), Australia (71 per cent) and, despite Jamie Oliver's best efforts, the United Kingdom (66 per cent).

Here is the list of the top ten most overweight nations, all but two, the U.S. and Dominica, are in the South Pacific.

1) Nauru: 95 per cent of population overweight

2) Micronesia 92 per cent

3) The Cook Islands 92 per cent

4) Tonga: 92 per cent

5) Niue: 84 per cent

6) Samoa: 83 per cent

7) Palau: 81 per cent

8) United States: 79 per cent

9) Kiribati: 77 per cent

10) Dominica: 76 per cent

[Photo credit: Paul Ellis/AFP]