The Aussie "Fat Bomb"

Mike Riggs | June 19, 2008

American obesity rates have leveled off, but it appears we conducted a thick-fingered pass of the fat torch to Australia:

[C]ardiology professor Simon Stewart said the results meant Australia probably had the highest rate of obesity in the world, outweighing even the United States.

"As we send our athletes off to the Olympics let's reflect on the fact that we would win the gold medal problem now in the world fat Olympics if there was such a thing," he said.

Seems like proponents of regulation are taking their cues from the New York City Health Department:

The report calls for a national weightloss strategy on the scale of smoking and skin cancer campaigns, including subsidising gym memberships and personal training sessions.

Next up for trimming the national waistline: sin taxes on recliners, central air conditioning units, and Netflix.

Senior Editor Jacob Sullum wrote about his own Body Mass Index here.