Fueled by the rising popularity of soft drinks and fast-food restaurants, Mexico has become the second fattest nation in the world.

    Fueled by the rising popularity of soft drinks and fast-food restaurants, Mexico has become the second fattest nation in the world. Mexican health officials say it could surpass the US as the most obese country within 10 years if trends continue.

    More than 71 percent of Mexican women and 66 percent of Mexican men are overweight, according to the latest national surveys.

    With diabetes now Mexico's leading cause of death, activists and leaders hope to renew efforts to crack down on junk food and other fatty-food consumption and encourage citizens to exercise more. But it will be a tough battle, as industry groups are expected to put up a fight.

    No one knows better the country's affection for fattening foods than Lidia Garcia Garduno , who's run a fruit stand in central Mexico City for the past 10 years.

    "People don't eat right anymore," said Garcia Garduno "Instead of coming here and purchasing a fruit drink, they prefer to walk across the street and buy fried pork chops. That's why so many Mexicans are obese."

    In 1989, fewer than 10 percent of Mexican adults were overweight. No one in the country even talked about obesity back then, said Barry Popkin , a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill professor who studies global weight gain. Experts were too concerned with poverty and hunger.

    "It certainly snuck up on them," said Popkin, who's working with the Mexican health ministry to develop strategies to address obesity throughout the country. " Mexico has probably had the most rapid increase of obesity in the last 15 years."

    Mexican Health Secretary Jose Cordova , who launched a new health campaign Feb. 25 , agrees: "We have to put the brakes on this obesity problem."

    由于軟飲料和快餐廳越來越受歡迎，墨西哥目前已成為全球第二大肥胖國家。墨西哥的衛生官員們稱，如果這一趨勢持續下去，墨西哥將在十年內趕超美國，成為第一大肥胖國。

    據墨西哥全國范圍內的最新調查結果顯示，超過71%的女性和66%的男性體重超標。

    目前，糖尿病是墨西哥的第一大死亡原因。社會活動家和權威人士希望相關部門能繼續努力，抵制垃圾食品和其它高脂肪食品，并鼓勵人們多鍛煉身體。但由于一些行業組織會出面抗議，這注定是一場“攻堅戰”。

    說到墨西哥人對于增肥食品的喜愛，沒有人比利迪婭•加西婭•加杜諾體會更深。利迪婭在墨西哥中部的墨西哥城經營一家水果店已有十年之久。

    加西婭•加杜諾說：“人們的飲食越來越不健康。現在到我這來買果汁飲料的人越來越少，都跑到街對面的快餐店去買炸豬排去了。這就是為什么這么多墨西哥人面臨肥胖問題的原因了。”

    據北卡羅萊那大學查伯爾山分校全球肥胖問題專家巴里•波普金教授介紹，1989年，墨西哥僅有不到10%的成年人體重超標。那時甚至沒人談論肥胖問題。專家們都一門心思地去想如何解決貧窮和饑餓問題。

    “他們沒想到肥胖問題也隨即而來。”波普金教授目前正與墨西哥衛生部合作，制訂解決全國范圍肥胖問題的戰略。他說：“在過去15年中，墨西哥可能是肥胖率增長最快的國家。”

    墨西哥衛生部部長約塞•科多瓦于上月25日啟動了一項新的健康計劃。他也認為，“控制肥胖勢在必行。”

    Vocabulary:  

    snuck(sneak) up on:偷偷跟著某人