Brazil, the country of slender supermodels, champion soccer players and revealing bikinis, has been increasingly fattening up, following the steps of the United States.

According to a government study released on Thursday, 40 percent of Brazilian adults, or about 40 million people, are considered overweight and another 11.1 percent are obese. As reported the Brazilian Institute of Geography, the percentage of overweight and obese women in Brazil has doubled over the last 30 years, while the number of overweight men has doubled, and tripled in the case of obesity among males.

The report claims the main reasons for such trend to be the South American country’s sweet tooth, a lack of exercise and the gradual replacement of staples like rice and beans for processed foods, like cookies and soft-drinks.

“We eat a diet that is highly caloric, rich in sugar and poor in healthy foods, ” Carlos Augusto Monteiro, an advisor to Brazil’s health ministry, told Reuters at a news conference.

“On top of that, there’s a significant amount of the population that lives a sedentary lifestyle, and it’s higher among the lower class.”

By comparison, more than 60 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.