MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentines fatter and 56% have Indian ancestors.

Argentines have been putting on weight at an average 3.5 kilos per decade and for over half a century according to “Obesity in Argentina”, the latest report to address a growing concern all over the world.

Sedentary lifestyle and fast foods high in fat and sugar are signalled as the main cause for fleshier Argentines.

Researchers from Buenos Aires Centre for Children's Nutrition traced the course of the disease, basing their conclusions on the extent of the serious health problem on anthropometric studies completed in 1995 and 1999 involving 70,000 18-year-old males.

Anthropometric studies, or comparative measurements of the human body, are used by health researchers to gauge growth and development.

Another recent genetic report from the University of Buenos Aires, UBA, and covering a span of 12 years revealed that 56% of Argentines have South American Indian ancestors.

"We're not as European as we believed", said Daniel Corach, head of the UBA Genetic Digital Prints Department, who has been collecting random samples from 12,000 people in eleven of the 23 Argentine provinces since 1992.

According to the findings 10% are pure Indian; 37% from Indian mother and non Indian father; 9% from Indian father and non Indian mother, which totals 56%. However Mr. Corach believes the percentage could be higher since non Indian mothers could have Indian ancestors and their genetic traces are not necessarily as strong as in Indian fathers.

Going back to obesity, according to researchers, if current data is compared with the first anthropometric study completed in 1938, a weight gain of 3.5 kilos per decade is evident, as well as an increase in the average body mass index (BMI) from 19.5 to 22.8.

The BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women. BMI categories range from underweight to obese.

"The tendency is clear. Weight gain is greater than growth (in height), and, therefore, our adolescents are fatter than those in France and the United States," research-team leader Dr. Alejandro O'Donnell told the La Nacion newspaper.

Additional information indicates that beef loving Argentines have had an average per capita consumption of 3,170 calories over the past 40 years, while the average daily caloric requirement stands at 2,300. Similarly, during almost six decades consumption of fats increased from 29.9% of staple diet to over 32%, with a simultaneous reduction in fruit and vegetable intake.