Wanting to get a non-scientific yet personal perspective of the problem, with pencil and notebook in hand I sat down by one of the fountains at Zamora, Michoacan’s main plaza. For the next five or so minutes I observed the first one hundred adults who walked by and I made either an X or an O on the pre-numbered sheet of paper. Once one hundred adults had passed by, I tallied up the numbers. There were 18 O’s which represented individuals of “normal” weight and there were 82 X’s which represented individuals who were either observably overweight or obese. Was I shocked or surprised? Unfortunately, not!

You see, as of 2010, Mexico had become the “globesity” leader in the percentage of adults who were either overweight or obese. With almost 70% of Mexican adults being overweight and of those individuals almost 30% being obese, Mexico, excluding the tiny Pacific nations of Samoa and Tonga, had (almost without exercising a muscle?) overtaken it’s North American neighbor, the U.S., as being number one in the world’s rankings as reported by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Perhaps even more disturbing, also as of 2010, approximately 25% of school-aged children and about 33% of the country’s teenagers were either overweight or obese. What could be deemed shocking, though, is that in 1989 some estimates indicate that fewer than 10% of Mexico’s adults were overweight or obese.

So, what are the principle reasons for this huge change? To figure this out, it really does not take a proverbial rocket scientist or a nutritionist or a biochemist or a sociologist or a social psychologist or a Madison Avenue advertising executive or even a fortune teller. Plain and simply the “culprits” are unhealthy diets/poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle. Despite the fact that Mexico City and the country’s northern regions have the highest prevalence of persons who are overweight or obese, those two factors demographically cut across Mexico’s disparate social classes, genders, ages, and throughout all of its geographic sectors, rural and urban.

In terms of poor nutrition, a majority of Mexicans have eschewed the traditional and healthy/nutritionally sound diet based on corn, beans and perhaps a small amount of chicken supplemented by fruits and vegetables for a more Westernized unhealthy diet comprised largely of industrialized, packaged, and processed foods; this was to an arguable degree fueled by the passage and implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994- since then modern supermarkets have become the food source of choice by an ever-increasing proportion of the population. Even the once ubiquitous corn tortilla, particularly in the cities, has to a large degree been replaced by Mexico’s equivalent of Wonder Bread, Bimbo Bread. Be it imported or home grown, many Mexicans of all ages appear to be addicted to a variety of salty fried snacks like potato chips or duros/fried salted puffed wheat and other comida chatarra/junk foods like chicharrones/fried pork skins and churros.

Although not as nearly as common as they are in the U.S., the problem has been also exasperated by the invasion and rising popularity of fast food outlets into Mexico’s cities. Not only are Mexicans now eating more fat and fried foods while consuming less fresh produce and whole grains, the country is the world’s number one consumer, at 42 gallons per person per year, of sugary soft drinks. As many areas in the country no longer observe the 2PM-5PM siesta (which was a time for the entire family to eat together a home cooked preparation as its main meal of the day), with rising consumer spending, and with more women in the workplace, less meals are being prepared at home; oftentimes, lacking the time to prepare a more nutritious meal, women are serving their families such non-traditional meals like ramen noodles or to go pizzas. Moreover, such Mexican faire like fried pork tacos, pork tamales and atole, or bunuelos/sweetened fritters which in the past were only purchased for special occasions are now eaten or imbibed regularly by many.

The other weight inducing culprit is Mexico’s adoption of a U.S.-like lifestyle. Rapid urbanization, loss of or lack of development of safe green space in the cities, reliance on motored transportation, preoccupation with electronic entertainment equipment, susceptibility to aggressive advertising of unhealthy products, more stressful living situations, and a decline in physical labor all contribute to the problem. Even in decidedly rural areas like the town that I live in, Churintzio, Michoacan, very few people exercise or even walk for recreation in the lovely surrounding countryside preferring to rely on their vehicles even for the shortest of distances; most are absorbed by their cable/satellite televisions and video games.

It is not surprising then that there has been a precipitous increase in weight/diet-related health issues like Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, strokes, osteoarthritis, and respiratory problems. It is estimated that obesity contributes to about 200,000 deaths per year with obese individuals on average living 8-10 years less than non-obese persons. Health experts report that up to one-third of Mexico’s healthcare costs are directly related to obesity-related conditions. Despite recent federal and local government efforts- such as educational healthy eating, drinking, and exercise campaigns and laws such as prohibiting unhealthy snacks and soft drinks in schools and limiting or restricting certain food/drink advertisments- the precentage of overweight and obese Mexicans is on the rise.

In Mexico in the not so distant past being overweight was construed to be a sign of real (or affected) affluence. That is no longer the case. Now it is only indicative of being Mexican!