Lula, Brazilians, to fight flab together

With one in four Brazilian adults overweight, including President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the portly leader will promote a nationwide fitness campaign, the government said on Monday.

Lula has taken to daily walks and a diet to control his weight and combat a sedentary lifestyle. He wants Brazilians to follow suit after a government study in December showed 40 million were overweight and 10 million of those were obese.

Sports Minister Agnelo Queiroz told reporters that Lula told a meeting on sports and fitness: "I am overweight and because of this I do regular exercise....People need to know this."

Lula will lead a walk in Brazil's capital, Brasilia, in late February to kick-start the campaign that will feature radio and television ads.

Medical studies show weight problems pose a greater health threat than malnutrition in Brazil, where up to 46 million people go hungry each day, according to government figures. Brazil's population is about 180 million.

The culprits for Brazil's fattening population appear to be the country's sweet tooth, a lack of exercise and the gradual replacement of staples like rice and beans with processed foods, the study found.