Today the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and PAHO released a worrying report about the population of overweight and obese people in the region. According to the report, about 360 million people in the Caribbean and Latin America are overweight. That's about 58% of the population of both regions. The report also noted that 140 million people, or 23% of the population is obese.
Why is so much of the population so overweight? Well according to PAHO Director, Carissa F. Etienne, the problem is access to healthy and affordable foods, as well as relatively low education levels among the poorer population in the region. In order to combat this epidemic, FAO's Regional Coordinator Eve Crowley urged governments in problem countries to quote, "introduce policies that address all forms of hunger and malnutrition by linking food security, sustainability, agriculture, nutrition and health."
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