When you think of a lot of food, you quickly think of America and the huge portions of fast food they love to eat there. A study conducted at the University of Oxford is a stereotype that needs to be corrected a bit, because not all other countries hate a portion of fries with lots of mayonnaise. Not the US, but a small country in the Middle East that consumes more calories per day on average.
Bahrain ranks first with an average consumption of 4,012 calories per day. It is a small island nation of 33 islands located off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Four out of ten adults in Bahrain are obese, according to research from the University of Oxford (in collaboration with the ‘Our World in Data’ group), which researchers attribute to sedentary lifestyles and the country’s high consumption of fast food. .
While the U.S. is not in first place, it is second with an average of 3,868 calories per day. To visualize that amount of food: A Big Mac has 257 calories. So Arab people eat an average of 15.6 per day and Americans 15 per day.
2,000 calories more
Of all 184 countries surveyed, fewer than 173 eat more than 2,000 calories a day. Our nation ranks fourth with an average of 3,824 calories per day, about 1,800 more than recommended, and still good to eat 14.8 Big Macs.
Our northern neighbors finish in 20th place with ‘only’ 3,460 calories a day. The United Kingdom ranks 26th with an average consumption of 3,422 kcal and Australia ranks 32nd with 3,399 kcal.
It’s surprising: even at 32, the average is well above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended level. According to the WHO, most people need an average of 2,500 (men) and 2,000 (women) calories per day. Please note: That amount will vary depending on individual factors such as age, height, weight and how much you exercise. For example, someone who moves a lot and does physical work needs more calories than someone who rarely moves and is mainly sedentary during the day at work.
And eat fast
All of the data for the study was collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where they looked at the average amount of food purchased per household per country. It obviously doesn’t represent how many calories each household actually eats, because researchers don’t know how much food ends up in the trash, for example.
Yet, aside from that side note, the focus is on ever-increasing calorie consumption, which is being observed around the world. Researchers at the University of Oxford attribute this rise in the average number of calories per day to the global prevalence of fast food, processed food and ready-to-eat meals, which are available almost 24 hours a day. Day is available everywhere. While these types of foods are high in calories, they are not always high in nutrients.
“This overconsumption may be due to poor sleep, a 24/7 lifestyle, everyone ‘on’ as much as possible by 2023 and more stress,” wrote the British newspaper ‘Daily Mail’ in response to the study.
Finally, the countries that appear at the bottom are the Central African Republic with 1,641 calories per day, followed by Burundi at 1,696, Madagascar at 1,770, Zimbabwe at 1,853 and Yemen at 1,957 calories per day. All of these countries are experiencing major geopolitical conflicts, as a result of which food supply has not always happened.
