NEW FEATURE on JEWISHSPORT.ORG: Health and Fitness  
It may be “a small, small world” at Disneyworld, but many of the nations represented at another Disney park – EPCOT – suggest otherwise. Both the United States and Israel are among the ten fattest nations, as reported in a recent study by the World Health Organization.

With this in mind, the Center for Sport and Jewish Life announces a new feature – the Health and Fitness Corner. With the help of our advisory panel and others, we will feature articles dealing with nutrition, fitness, and personal/spiritual well-being.

Stay tuned … (By the way, the Hebrew word for “fitness” is… kosher – most large hotels in the country have a “hadar kosher” – a fitness room.)

   NOT SUCH A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL…

Here are the ten fattest nations as ranked by the World Health Organization:

  1. American Samoa
  2. Kiribati (an island nation in the Pacific)
  3. U.S.A.
  4. Germany
  5. Egypt
  6. Bosnia and Hercegovina
  7. New Zealand
  8. Israel
  9. Croatia
  10. United Kingdom

Note: In the 1960s, 24% of Americans were overweight; today it is estimated that two out of every three Americans are too heavy. The extensive use of high fructose corn syrup in many processed foods is considered to be one of the contributing factors. With 61.9% of it people thought to be overweight, Israel isn’t too far behind. That number represents a three-fold increase in the past 30 years.