There's no polite way to say this: Americans are the fattest people on the planet.
Americans are heavier than Mexicans, Australians, Greeks, New Zealanders and the British -- and they aren't too far behind, the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States said.
Americans' love of water -- Americans drank more than 23 gallons of bottled water per person in 2004 -- is balanced by a love of sweets. Americans ate more than twice as much high-fructose corn syrup per person in 2004 as we did in 1980.
Most of the statistical tidbits provided by the abstract come from a variety of sources, including the government. In releasing the abstract Friday, the Census Bureau said the information is presented raw, without explanations, interpretations or cautions.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
