PORTLY POPULATIONS
By K. Westmoreland
Regardless of the location, there is always a degree of patriotic pride that comes when knowing your country is at the top of a given category, whether it be sports, economy, or intelligence. But a recent study has reversed this desire to be at the top.

More than 1.6 billion people in the world are either overweight or obese, according to a recent study by the World Health Organization.

Here's a look at the countries with the highest percent of overweight adults (people age 15 and over). People are considered overweight if their body mass index (BMI) is 25 or higher and obese with a BMI or 30 or higher.

1. Nauru 94,5
2. Micronesia 91,1
3. Cook Islands 90,9
4. Tonga 90,8
5. Niue 81,7
6. Samoa 80,4
7. Palau 78,4
8. Kuwait 74,2
9. US 74,1
10. Kiribati 73,6
11. Dominican Republican 71,0
12. Barbados 69,7
13. Argentina 69,4
14. Egypt 69,4
15. Malta 68,7
16. Greece 68,5
17. New Zeeland 68,4
18. United Arab Emirates 68,3
19. México 68,1
20. Trinidad y Tobago 67,

Experts say it is not surprising that people across the globe are increasingly becoming overweight. They blame urbanization and the influx of Western ways of life including myriad fast food choices, little exercise and stressful jobs.

This change in lifestyle is most evident in the South Pacific. On the list of "fattest" countries, eight of the top 10 are in the Pacific region. Various factors account for this trend. In the last 50 years this area has established significant economic ties with the U.S. and New Zealand, which caused a surge in Western imports and a significant change in diet.

When population density is taken into account, a new survey on the ratio of the fat in the world population shows that America has the largest number of fat people. Scotland ranked the second on the "Fattest country List".

Mexico is in the third place. Englanders are the fourth largest group of fat people.