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As Costa Rica gets closer to joining the ranks of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the number of grossly overweight and obese people in this country is increasing accordingly. In early 2014, a BBC report highlighted that obesity has quadrupled in developing countries and is beginning to match statistics associated with North America and Europe. That same report also mentioned that Costa Rica’s sweet tooth may be to blame for the overall gain in heft-among other reasons.

Part of the above-mentioned BBC report indicates that:

Globally, the percentage of adults who were overweight or obese – classed as having a body mass index greater than 25 – grew from 23% to 34% between 1980 and 2008.

The majority of this increase was seen in the developing world, particularly in countries where incomes were rising […]

The regions of North Africa, the Middle East and Latin America saw large increases in overweight and obesity rates to a level on a par with Europe, around 58%.

While North America still has the highest percentage of overweight adults at 70%, regions such as Australasia and southern Latin America are now not far behind with 63%.

The Costa Rica Star has been following the obesity trend in this country over the last few years. The following is from a March 2012 article:

People in Costa Rica are getting fatter, and this weight increase is not in character with our country’s goal of becoming a carbon-neutral nation by the year 2021.

bout a year ago, the Latin American Congress on Obesity met in Venezuela to share statistics and information on the epidemic that is sweeping through the Americas. The conclusion at that symposium was that Venezuela was leading the pack in obesity rates, closely followed by Guatemala, Uruguay and Costa Rica.

Later that year, we reported an observation similar to that of the BBC report:

Increased Prosperity Could Lead to More Obesity in Costa Rica

Prosperity could lead to higher obesity in Costa Rica, but only if appropriate measures aren’t taken. Many Tico children live inactive lifestyles indoors, which might be the culprit of high rates of asthma among our young population. Car culture is also growing in Costa Rica, which tends to run parallel to obesity and prosperity.

The BBC report concludes that:

consumption of fat, salt and sugar, which has increased globally according to the United Nations, is a significant factor in cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers.

The world’s top sugar consumers include the United States, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

Costa Rica is a major agricultural producer of cane sugar, and domestic demand has risen over the last few years. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that refined sugar is pretty cheap in Costa Rica; about $1 for a one-pound bag, but the problem is that the average household in this country is going through one of those bags each week.