Mexico to Tackle Obesity with Taxes on Junk Food and Sugary Drinks

Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico

THE GUARDIAN: President calls for hour of exercise per day and a 'change of culture' as Mexico has higher rates of adult obesity than the US

Mexico has become the standard bearer in the global fight against obesity, after parliamentarians passed a law imposing significant new taxes on junk food and sugary drinks.

The vote by congress is a triumph for the anti-obesity crusade of President Enrique Peña Nieto, who will now sign the measures into law. As the legislation was passed, he called for a "change of culture" in his country, including the incorporation of at least an hour of exercise for all Mexicans every day. Mexico has higher rates of adult obesity even than the United States, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation this year – 32.8% against 31.8% of Americans.

"We can't keep our arms crossed in front of a real overweight and obesity epidemic," the president said. "The lives of millions of Mexicans are literally at risk."

Taxes on unhealthy foods and sugary drinks such as colas and lemonades have been introduced by a few other countries in Europe and Scandinavia, but often subtly. Mexico has confronted the food and drink industry head on, resisting tough lobbying and warnings that raising prices would do nothing to help the country's economy.

But the government has taken the long view – that the potential economic harm from reduced junk food and soft drink sales now is insignificant compared to the damage in ten years time if obesity continues at the current rate. The healthcare burden of diabetes and heart disease in Mexico is already huge and increasing. Some 9.2% of children in Mexico now have diabetes. » | Sarah Boseley, health editor | Friday, November 01, 2013

University of California Television (UCTV): The Complete Skinny on Obesity

Millions have watched Dr. Robert Lustig's YouTube videos on the role sugar plays in obesity. In this compilation of the popular YouTube series "The Skinny on Obesity," Dr. Lustig and his UCSF colleagues dig deeper into the root causes of the obesity epidemic. Discover why what we eat is as important as how much we eat. Understand the effects of stress on obesity rates, and why some predict that the next generation will die younger than the current one due to obesity and the many health problems it causes.

University of California Television (UCTV) »

The Complete Skinny on Obesity

Millions have watched Dr. Robert Lustig's YouTube videos on the role sugar plays in obesity. In this compilation of the popular YouTube series "The Skinny on Obesity," Dr. Lustig and his UCSF colleagues dig deeper into the root causes of the obesity epidemic. Discover why what we eat is as important as how much we eat. Understand the effects of stress on obesity rates, and why some predict that the next generation will die younger than the current one due to obesity and the many health problems it causes.

PC Alert! Council Considers Banning Word 'Obesity'* to Avoid Offending Overweight Children
THE TELEGRAPH: A council is considering banning the word “obesity” from its health campaigns for fear of offending overweight children.

Liverpool City Council believes the expression could stigmatise youngsters and wants to replace it with the phrase “unhealthy weight”.

If the idea goes ahead, the words “obese” and "obesity" would be dropped from all schemes and strategies aimed at improving children’s diets and health.

However, the plans have been opposed by anti-obesity campaigners who are concerned the new term could lead to the issue being trivialised.

Tam Fry, chair of the obesity prevention charity the Child Growth Foundation, said: “If you’re obese you’re obese. >>> Murray Wardrop | Monday, April 12, 2010

*Okay, Mr Councillor! Just call them ugly fat instead! That should do the trick. Fat, after all, is fat! – © Mark

Peter Jennings Reporting: How to Get Fat without Really Trying

First aired December 8, 2003 on ABC

Obesity is fast on its way to becoming the nation’s largest and most costly public health problem. While much of the public debate about obesity has focused on personal responsibility, Peter Jennings Reporting – How To Get Fat Without Really Trying reveals how federal government agricultural policies and food industry practices are contributing to America’s growing obesity epidemic.

In this program, Jennings demonstrates for the first time how more federal agricultural subsidies are going to foods Americans should be eating less, while few subsidies go to foods we should be eating more. Jennings investigates the type of food products the packaged food industry introduces each year and finds that the vast majority of new food products are those that dietary guidelines say Americans should be eating least.

Jennings also takes a bold look at the marketing of unhealthy food to children. Studies reveal that young children are not capable of understanding the intent of advertising and Jennings questions the ethics of such marketing, raising the question: should children be protected from junk food marketing – despite the economic impact that might have on food companies and broadcast networks?

Within days of this documentary airing, schools across the country requested copies for use in their classrooms. Nutrition scholars are re-directing their research to examine the relationship of agricultural subsidies to the obesity epidemic. The Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission has indicated that food marketing is an area in which the agency will become more involved. And California legislators scheduled a screening of the program as they were considering restrictions on marketing of junk food to children.

As America's Waistline Expands, Costs Soar
REUTERS.COM: U.S. hospitals are ripping out wall-mounted toilets and replacing them with floor models to better support obese patients. The Federal Transit Administration wants buses to be tested for the impact of heavier riders on steering and braking. Cars are burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline more a year than if passengers weighed what they did in 1960.

The nation's rising rate of obesity has been well-chronicled. But businesses, governments and individuals are only now coming to grips with the costs of those extra pounds, many of which are even greater than believed only a few years ago: The additional medical spending due to obesity is double previous estimates and exceeds even those of smoking, a new study shows.

Many of those costs have dollar signs in front of them, such as the higher health insurance premiums everyone pays to cover those extra medical costs. Other changes, often cost-neutral, are coming to the built environment in the form of wider seats in public places from sports stadiums to bus stops.

The startling economic costs of obesity, often borne by the non-obese, could become the epidemic's second-hand smoke. Only when scientists discovered that nonsmokers were developing lung cancer and other diseases from breathing smoke-filled air did policymakers get serious about fighting the habit, in particular by establishing nonsmoking zones. The costs that smoking added to Medicaid also spurred action. Now, as economists put a price tag on sky-high body mass indexes (BMIs), policymakers as well as the private sector are mobilizing to find solutions to the obesity epidemic. » | Sharon Begley | NEW YORK | Monday, April 30, 2012

Fine Words Butter No Parsnips
THE TELEGRAPH: Michelle Obama has unveiled her campaign against childhood obesity in the US, saying that it is a problem that concerns her both as first lady and as a mother.

Michelle Obama launches her 'Let's Move' campaign in a bid to help combat childhood obesity. Photograph: The Telegraph
Mrs Obama said that the campaign was designed to encourage people to live healthier lives, but admitted that she herself was not immune to the temptations of junk food.

"I love burgers and fries. And I love ice cream and cake. And so do most kids," she said.

But, she added: "We're not talking about a lifestyle that excludes all that.

"The question is how do we help people balance that out so that they're not facing life-threatening, preventable illnesses, but they're enjoying their food, they're eating their vegetables, they're doing their running and walking and playing and still have time to get a good, fun meal in every once in a while."

One in three American children is overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other illnesses.

Billions of dollars are spent every year treating obesity-related conditions.

"None of us wants this future for our kids," Mrs Obama said at the White House.

"We have to act, so let's move." Michelle Obama launches obesity campaign and admits weakness for junk food >>> | Wednesday, February 10, 2010

It Is A Slow Metabolism After All: Scientists Discover Obesity Gene

THE INDEPENDENT: Mutations in "KSR2" gene prevent cells from processing glucose and fatty acids, scientists find

Obese people who claim they have a “slow metabolism” may have a point after scientists discover a gene that for the first time links being overweight with reduced metabolic activity.

Researchers from Cambridge University found that mutations in a gene known as KSR2 reduce the ability of cells to metabolise glucose and fatty acids, which provide energy.

These gene mutations are also more common in people with severe obesity than in the general, non-obese population, they found.

It has long been suggested that some people may be predisposed to obesity because of a “slow metabolism” but this is the first time that scientists have been able to identify a definite genetic basis for such an idea.

“It was something that most of us didn’t quite believe could happen because there wasn’t much evidence for it until now,” said Professor Sadaf Farooqi of the University of Cambridge.

“Up until now, the genes we have identified that control body weight have largely affected appetite. This gene also increases appetite but it is also causes a slow metabolic rate,” Professor Farooqi said.

“KSR2 is different in that it also plays a role in regulating how energy is used in the body. In the future, modulation of KSR2 may represent a useful therapeutic strategy for obesity and type-2 diabetes,” she said. » | Steve Connor | Science Editor | Thursday, October 24, 2014

Fault Lines: Fast Food, Fat Profits: Obesity in America (2010)

Obesity in America has reached a crisis point. Two out of every three Americans are overweight, one out of every three is obese. One in three are expected to have diabetes by 2050.

Minorities have been even more profoundly affected. African-Americans have a 50 per cent higher prevalence of obesity and Hispanics 25 per cent higher when compared with whites.

How did the situation get so out of hand?

Fat Fiction : Movie

Premiered Jul 29, 2021 Fat Fiction reveals how the United States government relied on questionable evidence to support one of the most damaging public health recommendations in the history of our country: the “low fat diet.” Featuring world leaders in low-carb nutrition:

Dr. Mark Hyman, Functional Medicine Doctor and Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine and the UltraWellness Center and Chairman of the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine.

Dr. Sarah Hallberg, Obesity Expert has reversed Type 2 Diabetes in hundreds of patients by ignoring the guidelines and prescribing a high fat, low carb nutrition plan.

Dr Jason Fung, Nephrologist and author of The Obesity Code, a book for reversing Type 2 Diabetes with LCHF and Intermittent Fasting.

Professor Tim Noakes, author of the Lore of Running.

Nina Teicholz, Journalist and author of the Big Fat Surprise.

Gary Taubes, Journalist and author of Good Calories, Bad Calories and The Case Against Sugar.

Dr. Rob Lustig, Pediatric Endocriniologist at University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Bret Scher, Cardiologist and Lipidologist practicing in San Diego

Dr. Eric Westman, Director of the Lifestyle Medicine clinic at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina

Dr. Brian Lenzkes, Internal Medicine Doctor Jonny Bowden, Nutritionist and author of The Great Cholesterol Myth

Dr. Zoe Harcombe, phD obesity researcher who wrote her thesis on the lack of evidence behind the US Dietary Guidelines

Professor Andrew Mente, McMaster University and researcher on the PURE Study

Alyssa Gallagher, Registered Dietician, Certified Diabetes Educator at Humphries Diabetes Center in Boise, Idaho

Doug Reynolds, Founder of LowCarb USA


Related video.

Obesity and Corporate Greed | DW Documentary

May 26, 2022 | Doctors predict that by 2030, half of the world's population will be overweight or obese. An epidemic of obesity is causing a rapid rise in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. It's becoming the biggest health challenge worldwide.

Why has no country managed to stop this epidemic? The food industry and government authorities say it's due to a lack of individual self-discipline. Is this true? Or is it the result of collective failure -- a symptom of a liberal society that abhors obesity, yet produces people who are overweight. Is society itself to blame for this situation?

Around the world, politicians, priests, doctors, and average people are standing up to multinational food corporations. They want to take back control of their nutrition and their bodies -- and they're using the law, scientific evidence, and political activism to correct the claim that people who are obese have only themselves to blame. These critics focus on sugary drinks that can be as addictive as some hard drugs; misleading advertising directed at children and low-income people; governments that turn a blind eye to junk-food companies; and lobbying that pushes the limits of legality.

These people say that a "hostile takeover" of our food has been underway for four decades, and they're demanding new legislation to put a stop to it. This documentary investigates how Chile is leading the way in this struggle. Which country will be the next to confront the big food corporations in the name of public health?

USA's Obesity Epidemic: Heart Attack Grills, Fat Camps and Plus-Size Beauty Pageants | Documentary

Sep 14, 2021 | | Never in all its history has America been so obese. With 160 million Americans severely overweight, in this documentary explore increasingly aggressive treatments as well as the counter-trend of body positivity and 'Miss Plus' beauty pageants.

Despite repeated government efforts to encourage the population to slim down, the obesity rates just keep climbing.

Faced with this staggering figure, healthcare professionals are trying to find new, more efficient and more aggressive treatments for this illness… We meet Casey, one of the few people whose weight has become a matter of life and death, and travel to Arizona to see an innovative new academy helping young girls learn healthy habits and slim down.

Despite the rising obesity crisis, a new movement is shaking up the United States: body positivity. Through lucrative social media accounts, popular magazine covers and even successful ‘Miss Plus’ beauty pageants, overweight Americans are learning to flaunt their curves and love themselves no matter their size.


This documentary is disgusting and gross. I apologise for it. But it is necessary to be aware of the disgusting eating habits of so many in the USA, and actually throughout the Western world, thanks to the influence of American culture on our eating habits. Fast the food may be, but healthy, it is not! Americans can teach us nothing when it comes to food and healthy eating. – © Mark Alexander

Health Matters: Obesity and Corporate Greed | DW Documentary

May 26, 2022 | Doctors predict that by 2030, half of the world's population will be overweight or obese. An epidemic of obesity is causing a rapid rise in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. It's becoming the biggest health challenge worldwide.

Why has no country managed to stop this epidemic? The food industry and government authorities say it's due to a lack of individual self-discipline. Is this true? Or is it the result of collective failure -- a symptom of a liberal society that abhors obesity, yet produces people who are overweight. Is society itself to blame for this situation?

Around the world, politicians, priests, doctors, and average people are standing up to multinational food corporations. They want to take back control of their nutrition and their bodies -- and they're using the law, scientific evidence, and political activism to correct the claim that people who are obese have only themselves to blame. These critics focus on sugary drinks that can be as addictive as some hard drugs; misleading advertising directed at children and low-income people; governments that turn a blind eye to junk-food companies; and lobbying that pushes the limits of legality.

These people say that a "hostile takeover" of our food has been underway for four decades, and they're demanding new legislation to put a stop to it. This documentary investigates how Chile is leading the way in this struggle. Which country will be the next to confront the big food corporations in the name of public health?

Commentary: I Don’t Defend Using Cigarettes or Tobacco. I Defend the Individual Freedom to Use Them.

This Dec. 17, 2019 photo shows a group of cigarettes in New York. About 14% of U.S adults were cigarette smokers last year, for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, the adult vaping rate still appears to be rising, according to a new government report. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE: The once-glorified cigarette graced the silver screen and could be seen in almost every magazine. Lucky Strike advertisements were as American as apple pie. Joe Camel was a four-legged hero and probably more popular than Spuds MacKenzie. Who didn’t want to look as cool as James Dean with a cigarette between their lips? On the battlefield, a cigarette provided tranquility even if just for a moment. Taking a few drags in a foxhole on a French battlefield while German soldiers were heard yelling or reloading was a little reminder of home.

For decades, cigarettes were a normal part of life. People smoked in every setting. From dinner parties, at the office, on airplanes or in the kitchen after a long day. It was normal and accepted. Then we started learning about the negative health implications. Americans became aware smoking cigarettes can have long-term negative effects on our bodies. We learned a lot of about nicotine and its addictiveness. Cancer was then linked to tobacco use. Long-term cigarette or cigar smoking could cause lung cancer. As people became aware, folks changed their behavior. Tobacco use, naturally, started to decline. » | Jess Nuñez | Wednesday, November 25, 2020

As far as I am concerned, the problem of obesity, as brought out in this German documentary started at around the time that the authorities and do-gooders started waging a war on cigarette-smoking and smokers.

I am going to stick my neck out here and state that there is a DIRECT CORRELATION between the decrease in the use of tobacco and the increase in obesity and the incidence of type-2 diabetes. When people smoked cigarettes more, both obesity and type-2 diabetes were far less prevalent in society.

Further, the authorities keep pushing vaping and e-cigarettes as alternatives to smoking real, traditional, combustible cigarettes, yet they have absolutely no reliable data on the long-term health consequences of vaping. This is grossly irresponsible on the part of medical people and governments worldwide.

People have been fed fairy stories, myths and lies about smoking cigarettes. If you listen to what they say about the dangers of smoking, if you dare indulge in the pleasurable habit, you will end up wrinkled, bald, toothless and you'll cough your lungs up! This is all balderdash, of course. I have smoked for most of my adult life and have very few wrinkles, a full mouthful of healthy teeth, a headful of thick, dark hair and I NEVER EVER cough! Moreover, I am not fat and I DO NOT suffer from diabetes. I believe that being a moderate smoker has helped me stay relatively slim and keep diabetes at bay. So, if I wish to do so, I shall continue to smoke real cigarettes despite the nonsense being talked about them. I am as proud to be a smoker as I am to be gay! I make absolutely no excuses for either!

As it happens, I have not smoked a cigarette for about ten days now. I had no intention of giving up smoking—and maybe I haven't long-term—but due to inclement weather, it was too wet to go out and buy cigarettes; so I didn't and did without. I haven't bothered to buy any cigarettes since that time.

Despite having a twenty-a-day habit for most of my adult life, I find it very easy to stop smoking when I wish to do so. Hence, I do not believe thaat smoking is half as addictive as they say it is. In my opinion and experience, smoking cigarettes is a habit rather than an addiction. Smoking is addictive only if one allows it to become so. Personally, all my adult life, I have refused to allow myself to become addicted to anything. When it comes to cigarettes, addiction is a choice: one becomes addicted if one allows oneself to become so. Basta!

At this point, I should add that I find it both maddening and stupid that at the very time that they are clamping down so much on smoking cigarettes, they are relaxing laws on smoking cannabis and other soft drugs. It is maddening because they have made the life of a smoker so difficult and expensive; it is stupid, because they are replacing one habit they say is so unhealthy with an even unhealthier one: smoking cannabis!

I would be the first person to admit that it is far better not to smoke at all. But only if the person doesn't replace smoking cigarettes with a habit which is even unhealthier than smoking cigarettes has ever been.

There is much more I could say about this subject, but for now, I shall leave it at that. – © Mark

Disney Joins Fight Against Obesity
Obesity is a big concern among US children, with nearly one-third of them either overweight or obese. Junk food marketing is a contributory factor to such problems, according to the Washington-based Institute of Medicine. Now, Walt Disney, one of the world's largest mass media companies, has decided to join the fight against obesity. The company, known for its popular theme parks, plans to ban commercials for junk food on its widely watched children network Disney TV, radio, web channels - and inside the theme parks themselves. Al Jazeera's John Terrett reports from Washington.

Obesity and Corporate Greed | DW Documentary

May 26, 2022 • Doctors predict that by 2030, half of the world's population will be overweight or obese. An epidemic of obesity is causing a rapid rise in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. It's becoming the biggest health challenge worldwide.

Why has no country managed to stop this epidemic? The food industry and government authorities say it's due to a lack of individual self-discipline. Is this true? Or is it the result of collective failure -- a symptom of a liberal society that abhors obesity, yet produces people who are overweight. Is society itself to blame for this situation?

Around the world, politicians, priests, doctors, and average people are standing up to multinational food corporations. They want to take back control of their nutrition and their bodies -- and they're using the law, scientific evidence, and political activism to correct the claim that people who are obese have only themselves to blame. These critics focus on sugary drinks that can be as addictive as some hard drugs; misleading advertising directed at children and low-income people; governments that turn a blind eye to junk-food companies; and lobbying that pushes the limits of legality.

These people say that a "hostile takeover" of our food has been underway for four decades, and they're demanding new legislation to put a stop to it. This documentary investigates how Chile is leading the way in this struggle. Which country will be the next to confront the big food corporations in the name of public health?

Children Whose Mothers Work Are 'Less Healthy'
THE TELEGRAPH: The children of working mothers are less healthy than those who stay at home, according to an authoritative study by British researchers.

Almost two out of three mothers with children under five work in Britain with numbers expected to rise, but new research has shown this can affect children's health.

In a study which will cause renewed debate over who have to divide their time between caring for their offspring and going out to work, the researchers found children whose mothers worked were more likely to be driven to school, to watch more than two hours of TV a day, and have sweetened drinks between meals.

Children of mothers who worked full time also ate less fruit and vegetables, the study suggests.

Middle class families suffer the same problems as the findings remained similar even when household income was taken into account, the paper said.

Encouraging mothers to return to work has been a key Labour policy and Patricia Hewitt said in 2004 when she was Trade and Industry Secretary that mothers who do not return to work were 'a real problem'.

The research, on more than 12,000 British children aged five, was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. >>> Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Working Mums Have the Unhealthiest Children, Research Finds
TIMES ONLINE: Children brought up by mothers who work are less healthy and more likely to have poor dietary habits and a more sedentary lifestyle, research suggests.

Mothers in full-time work, including those who work flexible hours, were found to have children who eat too few portions of fruit and vegetables, watch more television and consume more fizzy drinks than the children of mothers who stay at home.

The research, published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, involved more than 12,000 British schoolchildren born between 2000 and 2002 who are part of the Millennium Cohort Study. Trends being explored include the rise in childhood obesity and policies that have encouraged women to return to work.

Researchers questioned mothers about the hours they worked and their children’s diet, exercise and activity levels when the youngsters were aged 5. They also asked how long their childdren spent in front of a TV or computer. About 30 per cent (4,030) of the mothers had not worked since giving birth but the rest (8,546) were employed. On average they worked 21 hours per week and for 45 months.

Catherine Law, of the Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Institute of Child Health, University College London, told The Times the analysis showed that mothers who worked full-time had the unhealthiest children, followed by those who worked part-time.

Making use of flexible working arrangements while in full-time employment did not appear to improve a child’s habits, she added. “We have seen the rising rates of childhood obesity and the rise in initiatives to get women back to work, and that is what this research explores,” Professor Law said. >>> Sam Lister, Health Editor | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Fatties Die Just As Smokers Do! (But Don't We All?)
THE TELEGRAPH: Teenage obesity carries the same risk of premature death as those who smoke ten cigarettes a day, researchers have found.

Photo courtesy of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung
The number of early deaths in people who smoked more than ten cigarettes a day but were a healthy weight was the same as non-smokers who were obese, a study has found.

Smoking between one and ten cigarettes a day produced a similar risk to being overweight but not obese, the research in the British Medical Journal showed. Teenage Obesity Is as Bad for Health as Smoking: Research >>> By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor | Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

”Smoking Is Good for You” | My! How Times and Narratives Change, and Not Always for the Better!

THE GUARDIAN – EXTRACT: Every week we read that something we believe is bad for us actually has beneficial health effects. This week it's coffee, before that it was pizza - and every other day it's red wine. But can these stories really be true? That depends how you interpret the facts. To demonstrate, Ian Sample 'scientifically proves' the benefits of a few risky pastimes

…

Talk to physicians and they'll tell you there are few things you can put in your mouth that are worse for you than a cigarette. But it's not all doom and gloom. Smokers are at least doing their bit to slow down the runaway obesity epidemic that is sweeping through the western world. "In many studies, you often find smokers are slimmer. We've certainly seen it in our studies," says Jodi Flaws at the University of Maryland school of medicine. "Some people think it's due to certain chemicals in cigarettes somehow making them burn more calories, but others believe it suppresses appetite. It may well be both."

Drastically upping your chances of cancer and heart disease might not be the best way to avoid obesity, but it's certainly easier than running round the block.

Scientists have also found evidence that smoking might, in some circumstances, help prevent the onset of various dementias. Many dementias go hand-in-hand with a loss of chemical receptors in the brain that just happen to be stimulated by nicotine. Smoking seems to bolster these receptors, and smokers have more of them. The theory is that smokers may then have more to lose before they start losing their minds. "It does seem that nicotine has a preventative effect, but the problem is that the other stuff in the cigarette tends to rot everything else," says Roger Bullock, a specialist in dementia and director of the Kingshill Research Centre in Swindon. So if your time is nearly up anyway, and you have somehow managed to steer a course past the Scylla and Charybdis of heart attacks and tumours, smoking might just help you retain your marbles.

…

Read the whole article here » | Ian Sample | Thursday, August 7, 2003

Jalal Talabani: Too Well-Fed By Half
KUWAIT TIMES: BAGHDAD: Tired and battling obesity, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani flew to the United States yesterday for rest and help in tackling his weight problem. Talabani, in his early 70s, left from the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya in northeastern Iraq for a trip that could take several weeks. His office denied local media reports that Talabani was suffering from any specific illness and said he was in general good health apart from his weight.

It issued a statement quoting the president from a news conference on May 15. "I don't have any health problems except my obesity and I will treat it, God willing," the statement quoted Talabani as saying. "I will go ... to the United States of America to undergo general medical checks to reduce my weight." The former Kurdish rebel leader returned to his office in mid-March after two weeks in a Jordanian hospital, vowing that he was with Iraqis "until the final breath". Overweight Iraqi president heads to US to lose weight(more)

Mark Alexander