Obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

in Chile is a growing health concern with health officials stating that it is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. According to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

, Chile ranks 23 on a 2007 list of fattest countries with a percentage of 65.3% of its citizens with an unhealthy weight (defined as having a BMI above 25 or below 18). Until the late 1980s, malnourishment was the major concern and many poor Chileans were underweight. However economic development has brought an obesity crisis, which the government is taking measures to solve.

References

{{South America topic, Obesity in Health in Chile

See also

References