America has handed over the title “Fattest Nation In The World” to Mexico, according to the FAO.

According to a study released last month by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, Mexico’s adult obesity rate has reached 32.8%, just 1% above America.

Mexicans are consuming even more sugary drinks and snacks, and the poor population that accounts for nearly half of Mexican residents means unhealthy, cheaper items are becoming more easily accessible and heavily consumed. This had led to an increase of malnourished people in Mexico.

The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming obese,” physician Abelardo Avila from Mexico’s National Nutrition Institute told CBS News. “In the poor classes we have obese parents and malnourished children. The worst thing is the children are becoming programmed for obesity. It’s a very serious epidemic.”

Mexico resident Abraham Cruz Diaz spoke to Aljazeera about what it was like living in the country, mentioning that his children are asking for more sugary items and he has a hard time swaying their diet.

The pavements are saturated with vendors selling calorific snacks: deep-fried pork skin, beef tacos, doughnuts, ice cream, quesadillas filled with cheese, hot dogs, hamburgers, with freshly made potato crisps, and deep-fried plantain – sometimes the only vegetables in sight,” he said.

The nation’s famous sweet tooth has been successfully exploited by the fizzy drinks industry. Mexicans drink more ‘refrescos’ than any other country. Seven out of ten children in rural communities have a sugary drink with breakfast, according to the campaign group Power of the Consumer.”

Barry Popkin, Global obesity expert from North Carolina University,  understood the rate at which Mexicans were consuming sugary drinks. “Marketing of sugary beverages is the most important factor that we have found [in Mexico],” Popkin said. “Calories from beverages doubled between 1999 and 2006. Second, snacking is way up – again, probably a demand created by marketing. And third, the huge growth of convenience stores and modern mega-food markets.”