Waistlines Grow in Mexico as US Fast-Food Chains Expand to New Markets Bloomberg News
go to original April 10, 2013

Laura Carlsen, director of the Americas Policy Program in Mexico City, comments on how Mexico's obese population has rapidly increased over the years. (cctvamericasnow)

Fast food and expanding waistlines are not just an American health concern.

Even as McDonald's, Yum Brands and Domino's Pizza work to placate anti-obesity advocates at home, they're taking high-calorie offerings to other parts of the globe and hooking a new generation in emerging markets. Their target customers, often part of a rising middle class with a more sedentary lifestyle, are in turn putting on the pounds.

Eating less home cooking, and consuming more processed snacks and sugary drinks, the average man is gaining weight in Mexico, Brazil and Chile faster than the worldwide average, according to the Waistline Index compiled by Bloomberg. The women are too, except in Brazil, where they are holding to the global average. In all three countries, fast food is a relatively new option.

The foreign influx is in some ways similar to the one 300 years ago, when the conquistadors brought smallpox and measles to native civilizations in Central and South America, said Tim Lobstein, director of policy and programs at the International Association for the Study of Obesity in London.

... Men in Mexico gained an average of more than 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) from the opening of the first U.S. fast-food outlet in 1985 through 2010, while the nation's women added more than 19 pounds, according to the research conducted by Bloomberg.

Read the rest at Independent Online

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