21 Fattest Places on Earth

fat man, sandwich, istockphoto, 4x3 — istockphoto

Americans are fat, that's for sure. Sixty-seven percent of us are overweight, according to the World Health Organization. But that number puts us below several other nations on a recent WHO compilation of countries with high overweight/obesity rates. The compilation isn't perfect, given variations in collection of data from country to country. But you'll be surprised to see where we are on the "chubby list," and which other nations have big "fat" problems...

21. Canada

skier, canada, Robbie Dixon — EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

Not every Canadian is as buff as downhill skier Jan Hudec, shown here competing last November in a competition in Lake Louise. In fact, 59.1 percent of Canadians are overweight.

20. Chile

Maybe it shouldn't come as a surprise that a nation that shares a name with a popular food has a problem with obesity. Just under 60 percent of Chileans are overweight - 59.7 percent, if you're a stickler. But not these guests at a hotel not far from Santiago.

19. Seychelles

From the air, the Republic des Seychelle certainly looks lovely. Not so lovely is the obesity problem on the Indian Ocean nation: 60.1 percent of the country's citizens are overweight.

17 (tie). Barbados

Barbados may be one of the Lesser Antilles, but there's nothing small about the size of its citizens. In fact, 60.4 percent of Barbadians are overweight.

17 (tie). Macedonia

Models - like this one who strutted her stuff recently in Skopje - are just as shapely in Macedonia as they are elsewhere. Alas, most Macedonians are overweight - 60.4 percent of the population, in fact.

16. United Kingdom

Big Ben isn't the only thing that's supersized in the United Kingdom. In fact, 61 percent of the nation's citizens are overweight. Fish and chips, anyone?

15. Bahrain

Bahrain is a small island kingdom that has a large problem with obesity. Sixty-one percent of its citizens are overweight.

14. Croatia

Croatians are a heavy lot. A whopping 61.4 percent of the citizens of this Central European nation are overweight.

13. Israel

Serious runners, like those shown here competing in the 2009 Tel Aviv Marathon, tend to be thin and fit. But those descriptions don't apply to most people in Israel, where 61.9 percent of the population is overweight.

12. Malta

Malta is one of the world's smallest and most densely populated places. With 62.3 percent of its citizens overweight, it's also one of the world's heaviest nations.

11. New Zealand

New Zealand celebrated the arrival of 2004 with a burst of fireworks over Auckland's Sky Tower. But given the prevalence of overweight in the nation, New Zealand has less of a reason to celebrate. Kiwis' overweight rate is 62.7 percent.

10. Bosnia and Herzegovinia

The Bosnian War may have ended, but the battle of the bulge in Bosnia and Herzegovina has yet to be won. Sixty-three percent of the nation's citizens are overweight.

9. Kuwait

Overweight is a big problem for such a tiny nation as Kuwait. Sixty-four percent of Kuwaitis are overweight.

8. Egypt

Egyptians eat their fruits and veggies like the rest of us, but that doesn't stop them from having a big "fat" problem. Sixty-six percent of Egyptians are overweight.

7. Germany

You might expect obesity to be a problem for a country famous for beer and bratwurst - and you'd be right. Germany has an "overweight rate" of 66.5 percent.

6. United States

hot dog contest — Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Yea, us! The U.S. comes in sixth on the list of fattest nations, with 66.9 percent of us overweight. One reason may be our big appetites - celebrated each year at the annual hotdog eating contest in Coney Island, New York. Here the 2007 winner, Joey Chestnut of San Jose, Calif., poses with a plate of 66 weiners.

5. Panama

The central American nation of Panama noses out the U.S. as the fifth-fattest nation. A remarkable 67.4 percent of Panamanians are overweight.

4. Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is famous worldwide for its holy city of Mecca, which attracts countless faithful Muslim pilgrims each year. But not all Saudis are svelte. In fact, with 73 percent of the kingdom's citizens overweight, Saudia Arabia is one of the heaviest places on Earth.

3. French Polynesia

Almost three-quarters of those living in French Polynesia are overweight - 74 percent, in fact. Here, Tahitians wearing special glasses viewed a solar eclipse last July. But who's watching Tahitians' waistlines?

2. Kiribati

On this island nation in the central Pacific, 82 percent of the citizens are overweight. That puts Kiribati near the top of the informal list of fattest places on Earth.

1. American Samoa

Tropical paradise? Maybe. But with a whopping 94 percents of its citizens overweight, American Somoa tops the list of the world's fattest nations.