You might think the U.S. is the most obese nation in the world - but if you do, you are wrong.

　　如果你一直以为美国是世界上肥胖人口最多的国家，那你可就错了。

　　Soaring rates of obesity in the Pacific Islands, nations in the South Pacific Ocean east of Australia and Fiji, have shot to the top of the worldwide obesity scale.

　　在太平洋岛一些岛屿、澳大利亚及斐济东部的南太平洋的一些国家里，不断升高的肥胖率使它们有望成为世界上肥胖人口最多的国家。

　　Previously it has been theorised that Pacific Islanders are genetically predisposed to obesity.

　　之前有理论认为生活在太平洋小岛上的人属于天生易胖体质。

　　But experts now say the introduction of Western diets to the islands are to blame for the problem.

　　不过现在有专家称是西方饮食的引入导致了岛上居民的肥胖。

　　American Samoa, found south of Samoa, tops the chart, with 75 per cent of the population reported as obese.

　　其中，美属萨摩亚南部地区的肥胖人口占75%，在各国肥胖率排名中位列第一。

　　Nauru and the Cook Islands, also found in the South Pacific Ocean, come in second and third places with 71 per cent and 63 per cent of the population obese.

　　南太平洋的瑙鲁和库克群岛分别排在第二和第三，其肥胖人口比例分别为71%和63%。

　　The islands were colonised by Australian, American, New Zealand, British or French nations after the Second World War, and the diets and social changes introduced blamed for soaring obesity rates.

　　这些小岛在二战之后曾先后成为澳大利亚、美国、新西兰、英国和法国等国家的殖民地，由此带来的饮食及社会变化使这些小岛的肥胖率逐渐上涨。

　　These colonising nations encouraged dependency on imported food, meaning the local fishing and farming industries on the islands died out.

　　这些殖民国家鼓励小岛上的居民依赖进口食品，这意味着当地的渔业和农业便逐渐消失殆尽。

　　Traditional foods of the islands such as fresh fish, meat and local fruits and vegetables have been replaced by rice, sugar, flour, canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, soft drinks and beer.

　　小岛上传统的食物如生鱼、生肉、当地水果蔬菜逐渐被大米、糖、面粉、肉罐头、水果及蔬菜罐头、饮料和啤酒等取代。

　　Oxford University researchers said these newly introduced foods are ‘energy-dense, nutrient poor’ products which have led to rising levels of obesity.

　　牛津大学的研究人员称这些被引入的“高能量、低营养”食品是小岛居民逐渐肥胖的原因。

　　These Western foods also became a sign of social status among the islanders, research published in the Journal of Public Health Nutrition found.

　　有研究表明，对于小岛居民来说，这些西方食品也逐渐成为社会地位提高的一种象征。

　　Islanders were taught to fry their fish, rather than eat it raw as they had done before.