America is no longer the world's fattest nation; the title now belongs to nearby Mexico.
In Mexico 32.8 percent of the population is obese, America is just below them at 31.8 percent, ABC News reported.
The statistic is unimpressive compared to some small nations, such as the Micronesian island of Nauru, where 94.5 percent of the population is overweight, The New Zealand Herald reported. Despite the high obesity rate in some smaller countries, Mexico beats out the other populous nations in overall chubbiness.
Mexicans with higher incomes don't necessarily have higher body mass indexes, according to ABC.
"The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming obese," said physician Abelardo Avila with Mexico's National Nutrition Institute. "In the poor classes we have obese parents and malnourished children. The worst thing is the children are becoming programmed for obesity. It's a very serious epidemic."
The number of overweight people in Mexico has risen across all age groups over the past decade or so.
About 70 percent of adults in the country are overweight or obese, childhood obesity has risen three-fold, and a third of Mexican teenagers are above a healthy weight.
One in every six Mexican adults dies from weight-related diabetes every year, making it the number one killer in the country.
The disease causes over 70,000 people a year, which experts say is equivalent to six years of gang-related fatalities in the country.
"The result is that for many Mexicans, particularly in urban areas or in the northern states, switching to healthier diets is becoming increasingly difficult," UN expert Olivier de Shutter said in a report issued two years ago.
Mexicans have a carbohydrate-rich diet, which was not as much of a problem when physical labor was more prevalent but active lifestyles are not as common as they used to be. Fast food may also be blame for the obesity, as it is in many overweight countries.
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