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Published January 13, 2015
The land Down Under has surpassed the United States as the world's fattest nation, according to a report presented to Australian government officials Friday that contradicts other findings.
Reuters said the report, compiled by Australia's Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, claims that about 4 million Australian adults, or 26 percent of the population, are obese, eclipsing the 25 percent rate in the United States.
The institute found that 70 percent of men and 60 percent of women aged 45 to 65 in Australia are technically overweight or obese, Reuters reported.
Although the report states that Australia has a higher obesity rate than that of the United States, at least one U.S. study disputes that claim.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly a third of U.S. adults 20 years and older are obese, meaning they are 30 pounds or more overweight, while about two-thirds are overweight. Mississippi is America's fattest state, with about 30 percent of adults considered obese, according to a study released last August from The Trust for America's Health.
Five Pacific countries top the World Health Organization's list of fattest nations. More than 94 percent of people living in Nauru, the world's fattest nation, are overweight, according to the WHO.
The United States is the seventh-fattest country on the WHO's list, while Australia comes in at No. 21.
Click here for more on this story from Reuters.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/report-australia-vies-with-u-s-to-be-fattest