Chronic diseases of the West now major killer in poor countries

FT reports that not only are more people becoming obese in the developing world, they are dying of these diseases far faster than people living in the West:

A theory is emerging that people in poor countries are more vulnerable to chronic diseases. The reason might be that they often have low birth weights. The “thrifty phenotype” hypothesis argues that underweight babies are programmed to expect food scarcity and so store fat very readily. When they find food in ample supply later in life, this might increase their risk of obesity. Those with low birth weight certainly appear to be particularly vulnerable to chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Also, people in poor countries might suffer worse once they acquire a chronic disease. For instance, hypertension appears to affect Africans more severely than sufferers on other continents. South Asians seem to develop heart disease four to five years earlier than their white counterparts, and their diabetes seems to be more aggressive. The reasons for this are still unclear.

Blame the exportation of America's junk food culture to all corners of the globe.