"The Fat American" is a typical stereotype, but the United Kingdom is catching up quickly. Last November the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development published a report declaring the UK to be the most obese country in Western Europe. They predicted that by the year 2030, 40% of British people will be obese. (Sadly, Mary Poppins may need two umbrellas to fly.)
Forza Supplements has analyzed data from the health boards from ten countries, revealing the severe divides in weight, height and life expectancies. Regarding weight, Americans are the fattest, coming in at 196 pounds. (Wooo! USA! USA! USA!) Australians are the second heaviest, at 190 pounds, thanks to their steady diet of Vegemite, kangaroo burgers and Fosters. And coming in at third, the United Kingdom, at 185 pounds. British men are heaver than those in The Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain and Japan. (Must be all that fish and chips.)
In terms of life expectancy, Japanese men and Australian men have the longest, at 80.9 years. (I guess even those obese Aussies are good at avoiding poisonous animals.) Of the European countries, Italy tops the charts at 80.5 years. UK men will die just before their 80th birthday, so make sure you throw a good party when you turn 79. Meanwhile, American men have a life expectancy of 76.9 years, which is four years earlier than those in Japan and Australia. Experts blame this on the U.S.'s own obesity epidemic, but who cares? Your facts aren't going to scare us Americans into exercising. I'll give you my Big Mac when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
The figures also revealed height differences. Dutch men stand tall the tallest, at 6 feet, although they might have been cheating by wearing wooden shoes. Japanese men are the smallest, at 5 feet, 7 inches. UK men stand 5 feet, 10 inches, US men stand 5 feet, 9.5 inches, Australian men stand 5 feet, nine inches, and hobbits in The Shire stand 3 feet, 6 inches.
Lee Smith, the managing director of Forza Supplements, commented on the UK's obesity crisis:
"These figures clearly show how obesity levels are going up all the time and this is impacting on male life expectancy.
One in four British men is now obese and obesity levels have trebled in the last 50 years. On current estimates, more than half the population could be obese by 2050.
We are clearly heading the same way as the US where the average man now weighs 14st for the first time in its history.
Despite being one of the world’s richest nations, life expectancy in the US is lower than in many countries and the obesity epidemic is a big factor.
The challenge for the next 50 years is how to ensure the positive benefits in public health are not destroyed by our love of food and drink."
Well, I guess we should try to all eat a little healthier. But today's a cheat day, so I'm going to McDonald's.