Chavez calls for dieting in Venezuela
Hugo Chavez is encouraging Venezuelans to slim down
Rising obesity has prompted Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to call on his country's people to lose weight, saying that he needs them to be fit and strong.
"There are lots of fat people," he said in a televised speech reported by the Guardian. "Doing sit-ups. Eating well. One has to learn how to eat."
According to the World Health Organisation, obesity is a growing problem worldwide. In 2005 there were approximately 1.6 billion adults who were overweight, and at least 400 million were obese.
Chavez's comments were prompted by a study which suggested that the average adult Venezuelan's "excess" weight had ballooned from 6.3kg to 14.5kg in the past two decades.
Chavez, 55, said he had lost nearly 20kg with exercise and a better diet, adding that it made him feel "ready to continue commanding the Bolivarian revolution".
However, Chavez may have a challenge on his hands if he is to persuade Venezuela's 28.6 million people to wage battle against the bulge.
Traditional Venezuelan cuisine is typically fattening, such as chicharron (deep fried pork rinds) and cachapa, a popular breakfast of cornmeal dough pancakes mixed into a thick batter and served with soft white cheese.
Still, Chavez, who is facing legislative elections next year, was careful not to alienate his female constituency.
"I'm not saying fat women, because they never get fat," he said, before adding coyly: "Women sometimes fill out."
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