Just in time for our afternoon churro break (before tea but after second breakfast) comes the news that Mexicans are expanding at an alarming rate. According to studies by the Mexican government:

Nearly half of Mexico’s 110 million people are overweight, and the number of fat children has climbed 8 percent a year over the last decade.

Most alarmingly:

Mexico is on track to surpass the United States as one of the world’s fattest countries by 2018.

Holy shit! How is that even possible? The U.S. practically invented obesity, what with KFC Bowls, those motorized carts at Walmart and 32 oz cokes. Mexico, what’s your secret?

One report says that the Mexican diet (because all they eat is burritos, right?) has always been relatively unhealthy, but that in recent years it’s gotten even worse, as the cheapest food is now processed junk food.

Mexican cuisine has always been high in fat and carbohydrates. But for decades, people living in small villages could not grow enough crops to eat a lot and had to travel long distances to gather more food.

Now, as the middle class grows and more people move to cities seeking work, diets have become laden with processed and fast foods. At the same time, doctors say, Mexicans spend more time sitting in cars or watching TV.

In response to this trend, the Mexican government launched a campaign called Vamos Por Un Million de Kilos, which has already surpassed its goal of a collective loss of a little over two million pounds and is now aiming for another two million. Another tactic of health promoters has been to try to get better quality food in schools.

There does seem to be some legit data behind the article, as they cite definite trends such as rises in high blood pressure and diabetes (both linked to obesity)

New cases of high blood pressure increased 24 percent in Mexico in just six years, from 2000 to 2006. New cases of Type 2 diabetes jumped 31 percent during that time.

But there is also a definite possibility that a lot of this report is hype. Firstly, we find it hard to believe that half of the entire population is truly obese. And that whole bit about “the Mexican diet is bad for you” is a bunch of hooey. If you bathe in requeson and eat three meals a day from taco trucks then it’s no wonder if you’re getting stuck in narrow doorways. But all the Mexicans we know eat like normal people- i.e. a relatively balanced diet of carbs, veggies and meat (excepting Daniel, who regularly tries to eat his own weight in chilaquiles.)

So for now, at least, America is still the reigning champion of clogged arteries.

Mexico pushes national campaign to lose weight [AP]
Vamos Por Un Million de Kilos