Bermuda is landing itself a reputation as an island of Coco Pops addicts if international news reports are anything to go by.

Media in the US and the UK have been reporting Bermuda's rise towards the top of the world obesity table — and bizarrely claim the Island points the finger of blame directly at the chocolatey breakfast cereal.

The stories — which have become a talking point on blogs in America — appear to be based on a quote attributed to Health Coordinator Jennifer Attride-Stirling inaccurately by British news agency Ananova.

Dr. Attride-Stirling last night set the record straight by pointing out she never said or implied Coco Pops were solely to blame for new figures showing 23 percent of Islanders are obese and a further 38 percent overweight.

The Ananova report states: "Bermuda is blaming Coco Pops for its rise up the world obesity table.

"The Caribbean island is now the fourth fattest country in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

"Bermuda's health coordinator Jennifer Attride-Stirling told The Royal Gazette newspaper: 'Many people have a massive bowl of Coco Pops for breakfast every day.'"

The Cleveland Leader in Ohio ran the headline: "Bermuda blames obesity problems on Coco Pops," while one radio station from Cambridge, England, twice telephoned The Royal Gazette to invite a reporter to discuss the issue live on air.

On Monday, in an interview about attitudes toward diets, this newspaper reported Dr. Attride-Stirling as saying: "If they have breakfast every day, it might be a massive bowl of Coco Pops."

Last night, she said this comment had been taken out of context overseas and stressed the main culprits for obesity in Bermuda are lack of exercise and a generally poor diet.

"The reasons for obesity here are the same as they are anywhere else," she said.

"We are consuming more calories than we are burning because of the types of food that we eat and because of the portion sizes that we take.

"We don't burn them because we don't walk as much as we used to; we take elevators instead of stairs; we take escalators instead of stairs."

She said fattening foods popular in Bermuda include large servings of mayonnaise, barbecue sauce and ketchup on barbecued snacks which otherwise might be healthy; sugary drinks; alcohol; and large portions of rice and pasta.

On breakfast cereals, she said: "All of these foods are OK to have on an occasional basis. Some cereals are very high on sugar. If someone gets a bowl of Coco Pops occasionally, that's absolutely OK. It's portion size that's definitely the problem."

A spokesman for Kellogg's, which makes Coco Pops, told this newspaper: "We're proud of our portfolio of products and all our products fit within a healthy, balanced diet.

"Cereal is a nutritious way to start the day. Our ready-to-eat-cereals, including the pre-sweetened varieties such as Coco Pops, are nutrient dense, low in fat, fortified with nutrients and many are excellent sources of dietary fibre.

"Studies show that, for both children and adults, eating cereal as part of a nutritious breakfast promotes a healthy weight."

"We endorse consuming the proper serving size of any food or beverage. Kellogg Company believes that educating consumers empowers them to make good nutritional choices.