Are rich nations destined to be obese?
12/26/2011The growing worldwide obesity epidemic has been blamed on a number of factors, but a study argues that it may be inexorably linked with wealthy nations and their fast-food restaurants.
Researchers compared the number of fast-food restaurants per capita in 26 countries listed as advanced economies by the International Monetary Fund. They used one chain (Subway) as a proxy measure; at the end of 2010 the chain reportedly had the most restaurants worldwide.
Countries with the highest density of restaurants per capita were the United States and Canada: 7.52 and 7.43 per 100,000 people, respectively. In the United States the prevalence of obesity for men and women is about 32 percent, while in Canada it's about 23 percent.
Japan, however, has far fewer of the fast-food restaurants, 0.13 per 100,000 people, and a far lower obesity rate: 2.9 percent for men and 3.3 percent for women. Similarly, Norway has 0.19 restaurants per 100,000 people and an obesity rate of 6.4 percent for men and 5.9 percent for women.
The researchers, who emphasize that the findings show correlation and not causality, controlled for various factors such as the number of people living in urban areas, income, Internet use, and the number of motor vehicles per capita.
Obesity is often linked with environmental factors as well as genetic ones. The popularity of sugary drinks, the loss of physical education in school, more sedentary jobs, and extra time spent in front of computers and television have been blamed, as well as certain genes that might affect how our bodies process food.