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Home General National news The Number One Get email alerts The U.S. is the most obese nation in the world, just ahead of Mexico By Barbara Kollmeyer Published: May 29, 2017 1:03 a.m. ET Share (BUTTON) (BUTTON) (BUTTON) (BUTTON) (BUTTON) Obesity rate will reach nearly 50% by 2030 in the U.S., says OECD [MW-FM829_obesit_20170519100650_ZH.jpg?uuid=6798bd08-3c9c-11e7-a1f4-9c8 e992d421e] Getty Images A growing problem [barbKollmeyer_100.png] By BarbaraKollmeyer Markets reporter Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fattest country in the world? Ouch. The obesity rate for American adults (aged 15 and over) came in at a whopping 38.2%, which puts the birthplace of the hamburger and the Cronut at the top of the heftiest-nations-in-the-world rankings, according to an updated survey from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Running at a not-too-close second is border pal Mexico, with 32.4% of population considered obese, followed by New Zealand, Hungary and Australia (the U.K. comes in at No. 6). The skinniest nations are Japan, with a tiny 3.7% of the population tipping the scales, followed by India, Korea, Indonesia and China. And across much of Europe, less than 20% of the population can be considered obese, according to the survey that was released Thursday. Here’s a visual on those statistics: [MW-FM801_obseit_20170519065202_NS.jpg?uuid=309f537c-3c81-11e7-9d47-9c8 e992d421e] OECD On average, 19.5% of adults are #obese across OECD countries. See where your country weighs in https://t.co/0rAdWjng8N PDF #health #EOD2017 pic.twitter.com/07QxLPYtB9 — OECD (@OECD) May 18, 2017 In most countries, the OECD has found that women are more obese than men, though obesity rates for the male population are growing rapidly. Education is a determinant as the organization found that less schooling makes a woman two to three times more likely to be overweight than the more educated in about half of the eight countries for which the data was available: [MW-FM827_oecd4__20170519095001_NS.jpg?uuid=0e2dbbc6-3c9a-11e7-8fde-9c8 e992d421e] OECD And the OECD has found that obese people have poorer job prospects than their slimmer counterparts, earning about 10% less, and are then less productive at work, with fewer worked hours and more sick days. Read: Adding calorie counts on menus might make Americans eat better — but not in the way you’d think Growing problem with obese children: As for children, the rate is about one in six in the OECD area. The organization reported that 31% of American 15-year olds self-reported as overweight, though the most recent data is from 2013-14. Canadian, Greek, Icelandic and Slovenian teens made up the rest of that top five. At the low end, just 10% of Danish teens consider themselves overweight. The OECD said the number of 15-year olds who self-report as overweight has steadily risen since 2000 even as countries put policies in place to fight it. Meanwhile, a broader sampling of 3 to 17-year olds shows that obesity trends have been rising for boys and girls in the U.K., and boys in the U.S.: [MW-FM812_oecd2__20170519092101_NS.jpg?uuid=00d3189e-3c96-11e7-91ce-9c8 e992d421e] OECD The future is fatter: Perhaps even more disturbing is the glimpse that the OECD offers into the coming years. As the below graph shows, obesity rates are expected to increase until at least 2030, led by the U.S., Mexico and England, where 47%, 39% and 35% of the population are expected to be obese by 2030. [MW-FM825_oecd3__20170519093401_NS.jpg?uuid=d208b5f8-3c97-11e7-ae22-9c8 e992d421e] As for solutions, the OECD suggest food labeling, and offered praise for health promotion campaigns across Facebook and Twitter, or dedicated mobile apps that have been shown to have the potential to help with weight loss and body fat. As one survey showed this week, obesity puts individuals at risk from related illnesses — diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and more. In other words, you can’t be fat and healthy at the same time. Read: One Brit discovers why Americans are so fat And where humans go, sometimes animals follow. Wildlife officials in Thailand were forced to put a macaque money nicknamed “Uncle Fat” on a diet after he would regularly feast on sugary drinks and junk food left by tourists, the Associated Press reported Friday. His weight, which should have averaged around 20 pounds, soared to 60 pounds, with sad photos circulating on the internet showing his giant tummy, which had become a benign mass. “He had minions and other monkeys bringing food for him but he would also redistribute it to younger monkeys,” said Supakarn Kaewchot, a vet charged with helping the monkey slim down, told the AP. “He is now in a critical condition where there is a high-risk of heart disease and diabetes.” IFRAME: https://www.youtube.com/embed/vvMMYzCxclA Related articles from MarketWatch * ‘Missing Richard Simmons’ shone a light on taboo social problems faced by millions of Americans * There may be an ‘obesity effect’ on your investments * This is the diabetes capital of America MarketWatch Partner Center * * * Barbara Kollmeyer Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. Follow her on Twitter @bkollmeyer. Barbara Kollmeyer Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. 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