Sustainable Agriculture and Food: Four volume set (Earthscan Reference Collections)

The Nutrition Transition and its Health Implications in Lower-income Countries 259

Latin America

When looking at grades I and II and above obesity measures for Latin America,
levels of obesity in the 30 and higher range are found in Brazil, Mexico and Cuba.
The range is lower in other South American countries but there is no nationally
representative survey for most countries. In Brazil and Cuba, women have higher
levels of overweight and obesity than men but this is reversed in one survey in
Mexico conducted in 1995. There are few data available in terms of large-scale
surveys in the Caribbean; however, other studies and the Cuban data presented
here indicate that the Caribbean nations have very high levels of obesity.^42

Figure 12.5 Obesity patterns in Latin America

Figure 12.6 Obesity patterns in Asia