The High Rate of Obesity in the Pacific Islands - Essay Sample

Introduction

Affluent nations seem to report significantly higher rates of obese and overweight adults, mostly due to their failure to take advantage of access to recreational facilities and healthy foods. Unlike the wealthy nations, Pacific Islander countries present a significant public health challenge following their adoption of the westernized diets, which predominantly comprise genetically modified, heavily packaged and processed foods, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle. These elements form the risk factors for obesity and overweight in the Oceania region and the study will seek to establish ways to address such concerns. The top ten overweight countries are Pacific Islander countries that depend heavily on energy-dense, processed and less nutritious foods, unlike in the past.

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Nauru

Nauru is a Pacific Islander nation, measuring merely 8.1 square miles with a population of 10,000 people and GDP per capita of $12,951. 88.5% of its inhabitants are overweight and is globally ranked as the most overweight country globally (Bassett, IDI, WHO, IASO & IOT, 2000). The typical diet of Nauru comprises instant noodles, white rice, pop, and various forms of processed products. A larger part of Nauru's food is sourced from other countries and hence comes a relatively higher cost, especially the healthier alternatives - and access becomes extremely difficult for the overall population.

Palau

Palau is a country within the Pacific Island within the Oceania region with a GDP per capita of $13,897. It has the second most overweight adults globally, at 85.1%, and even more of a concern is 45.1% of its obese adult population. For comparison and perspective purposes, 39.8% of the United States' adult population is obese (Haden, 2009). Considering that Palau is an island, it depends intensely on imported food commodities, which implies that more nutritionally beneficial choices are considerably more expensive. As indicated by the World Bank, more than one adult in every group of five has diabetes in Palau.

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is located within the Oceania region of Pacific is a standout amongst the most overweight countries on the planet. It is reported that 84.7% of its adult population is overweight. The aggregate of Islands situated in the Pacific Oceania region is increasingly inclined to having a higher level of body mass due to the overreliance on imported, heavily processed food commodities (McCullough, 2013). Weight gain problems begin at a relatively younger age in the Cook Islands as twenty-seven percent of children aged between five and nineteen years are overweight.

Niue

Niue is a small island nation in the Southern Pacific Ocean and among the most overweight countries on the planet with 80% of the adult population with Body Mass Index of twenty-five or higher (Bassett, IDI, WHO, IASO & IOT, 2000). There is a statistically significant difference in the proportion of overweight between men and women. In 2016, 82.5% and 77.6% of women and men, respectively, were overweight. The health and wellbeing threatening condition has turned out to be significantly prevalent in the island in the previous decade. 77.5% of women and 71.0% of men population were classed as overweight in 2006 (Haden, 2009).

Kiribati

Kiribati is among the ten Oceanic countries in the top twenty most overweight nations, with 78.7 percent of its adult population having a body mass index of twenty-five or more. Kiribati is a small country within the Oceania region in the Pacific Ocean with a GDP per capita of $1,955. An eating regimen brimming with processed nourishments and observing a sedentary way of life over time can result in obesity, leading to a couple of undesirable and even life-threatening diseases and conditions (Haden, 2009). Some 28.4% of adults in Kiribati are likely to die of cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease or diabetes between the ages of thirty and seventy, the highest level of any nation globally (Haden, 2009).

Causes of Overweight and Obesity

The emergence of global trade led to the reduction in prices of imported foods, which are calorie-rich and of less nutritional value. Additionally, a substantial section of the land within these islands is unsuitable for farming. The soils are sandy and devoid of organic matter critical to supporting agriculture. Genetics is similarly believed to assume a critical role in the prevalence of overweight and obesity within these nations. For instance, the Samoans have a forty percent risk of developing obesity, store fat and expend less energy.

Prevention Strategies

The principal challenge for countries in Pacific island is the reinforcement of nutrition education in academic institutions through the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and eating practices. The challenge for government in these nations is to translate nutrition knowledge into behavior. There is a need for institutions to establish new laws to regulate the food business. There is a lack of clarity in the existing laws in the public health sector and the food industry. The authorities should consider increasing the volume of locally sourced less-energy dense and nutritious traditional foods in the Pacific islanders' diets (Bassett, 2000). They should challenge their fishing and agriculture sectors to find a balance between commercialization and local supply.

References

Bassett, J., (2000). The Asia-Pacific perspective: Redefining obesity and its treatment. Australia: Health Communications Australia.

Haden, R. (2009). Food culture in the Pacific Islands. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press.

Gewertz, D. B., & Errington, F. K.,. (2010). Cheap meat: Flap food nations in the Pacific Islands. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press.

McCullough, M. B. (2013). Reconstructing obesity: The meaning of measures and the measure of meanings. New York: Berghahn Books.