Africa has been known for years as a continent suffering from hunger problems. Now many people there are concerned with obesity instead of malnutrition. The people of Africa have an old belief that big is beautiful. This, combined with their new lifestyle, is the key contributor to the obesity problem.

Another factor contributing to the rise in obesity in Africa is that if one is really thin, others think that person must have AIDS. They do not want to be seen as too thin, thus they do not diet to lose weight.

The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of African women and 25% of African men are overweight. They predict these percentages to rise by 40% for women and 30% for men over the next ten years.

The diet of the African people is heavy in starch, which includes a great deal of white bread. It is normal for them to put three spoonfuls of sugar in a cup of tea or coffee. Like many parts of the world, they are getting less exercise and are eating more high-fat, high-sugar fast foods, all of which contribute to the growing obesity problem.