Page 24 - IB April 24

Health Health

PACIFIC OBESITY RATES CONTINUE

TO CONCERN

By Kite Pareti

Pacific Island nations have the highest rates of obesity in
the world, a new study has revealed.
The study from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-
RisC), a worldwide network of over 1500 researchers and
practitioners, revealed that in 2022, obesity rates among
adults in Tonga, Nauru and American Samoa reached over a
staggering 70%, while in Niue and the Cook Islands, more than
30% of children and adolescents were obese.
The researchers note that more than one billion people
worldwide now live with obesity.
“Obesity rates among children and adolescents worldwide
increased four times from 1990 to 2022, while obesity rates
among adults have more than doubled,” the study revealed.
Dr Guha Pradeepa, one of the study’s co-authors from the
Madra Diabetes Research Foundation warned that “the impact
of issues such as climate change, disruptions caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine risk worsening
both rates of obesity and underweight, by increasing poverty
and the cost of nutrient-rich foods.
“The knock-on effects of this are insufficient food in some
countries and households, and shifts to less healthy foods in
others. To create a healthier world, we need comprehensive
policies to address these challenges,” said Dr Pradeepa.

Tragic, but avoidable
The Regional Director for the World Health Organization “An estimated 1 in 5 people in this region are paying 10% or
(WHO) Western Pacific and Tonga’s former Minister of Health, more of their income in out-of-pocket health expenses,” he
Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala stressed the need for a “whole-of-society continued.
approach” in solving the high obesity problem in the Pacific as “The right to health cannot be realised if we don’t deliver
“it will not be an easy fix”. on the promise of health for all those [countries] who have
Dr Piukala told Islands Business: “A lot of effort has been signed up through the Sustainable Development Goals,” he
put into [obesity prevention] but the result that we expect is added.
very slow.” Leaders at the Pacific Health Ministers Meeting in Tonga last
He noted: “Sadly, in many places, highly processed foods year committed to a series of eight actions to address the
and drinks that contain a lot of fat, sugar, and salt are complex drivers of obesity, particularly in children and young
cheaper and more available than fresh fruit and vegetables. people. They stressed the need to engage other government
This, along with increasingly polluted environments, is ministries, particularly the ministries of environment,
contributing to a rise in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) trade, finance, customs, agriculture, fisheries, and social
such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.” development. They also committed to empowering networks
The World Health Organization has predicted that an and organisations already working at the community level,
estimated 21 million people in the Western Pacific are such as civil society organisations, youth groups, schools,
expected to die each year from NCDs by 2048. This would traditional leaders, local governments, and faith-based
account for 9 out of every 10 deaths in the region. organisations.
“This is tragic, but it is avoidable,” said Dr Piukala. Tonga has attempted many programs to attack obesity and
He notes that access to health services is still a problem. NCDs over the years, including most famously, the health
“In our most recent analysis, WHO found that 2 out of activities led by the late monarch, King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV
every 5 people living in the Western Pacific still cannot access in the late 1990s. A National Guideline for Healthy Living was
essential health services. That is 782 million of the 1.9 billion launched a year ago, and community and school-led efforts
people in the region. That just shouldn’t be the case,” he such as the ‘Free Breakfasts for Schools’ programme are
said. ongoing.

24 Islands Business, April 2024