MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

41% of Brazilians overweight.

More Brazilians die each year from obesity health related problems than from malnutrition, reported Sunday O Globo newspaper in Rio do Janeiro.

According to government statistics from the National Health Ministry some 447,000 Brazilians died in 2003, the latest available figure, from chronic conditions caused by obesity, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

That same year 54,000 Brazilians died from illnesses associated with malnutrition, including anaemia, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

These numbers appear to question President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration national campaign which targeted malnutrition as a priority of its social security policies. President Lula da Silva's administration arguing that 50 million of Brazil's 180 million lack an adequate daily calories intake launched with great domestic and international publicity the "Zero Hunger" program.

However Brazilian Health Ministry statistics confirm the results of a report released last month showing that Brazil has more people suffering overweight than malnutrition. The Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute report indicates that some 38.6 million people, or 40.6% of the Brazilian population are overweight or obese, while only 3.8 million, or 4% were below normal weight.