South Pacific is 'fattest region' (USA also on the list).

BBC ^ | Monday, February 26, 2007 (in the UK). | Phil Mercer

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Junk food and lack of exercise are largely to blame

A survey on obesity has shown that the South Pacific is the world's most overweight region.

The tiny republic of Nauru is the fattest nation on earth. About 94% of its adult population is overweight.

The WHO has warned that poor diet and a lack of exercise increase the risk of illness and premature death.

Doctors say obesity can lead to heart disease and arthritis, and fat children are increasingly being condemned to a lifetime of ill health and disability.

Junk food

In a list of the world's 10 most overweight countries, eight are in the South Pacific.

Nauru is particularly bad, with almost all of its adult population bulging at the waistline.

The situation in the Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga and the Cook Islands is only slightly better.

According to the World Health Organisation, about 90% of men and women in these isolated corners of the Pacific are obese or overweight.

A change in diet and a lack of exercise are key factors, and Western junk food now has a firm grip on many communities.

A growing number of islanders relies on imported and fatty processed meals - cheap alternatives to fresh fruit and vegetables.

Experts are linking obesity to poverty. Cheap food is often high on calories but low on nutrition.

There can also be cultural barriers when it comes to encouraging people to lose weight, as some groups in the South Pacific believe that beauty is marked by a large physical size.

Obesity is based on body mass index ,which is a measure of weight relative to height. As well as the South Pacific, the United States and Kuwait are also on the unenviable list of the 10 most obese nations.

The WHO has estimated that globally there are 1.6bn overweight adults.

That figure is expected to increase by 40% over the next decade.

[xjcsa]

Of course, as applied to individuals, BMI is essentially worthless, since it doesn't take muscle or bone mass into account.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Yeah. A very in shape guy with a lot of muscle can be put under overweight or obese. It's an imprecise method of measuring obesity. Still, these findings on Pacific Islanders do seem to fit with stereotypes of people in that region.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

There ought to be a law./s

[jdm]

[Right Wing Assault]

Weren't the S Pacific folks fat long before junk food?

[Lil'freeper]

A Nutrition Ping List For Those Interested in the Research of Dr. Weston A. Price

A sad to see ping. And how unlikely they are to eschew 'western' foods for their traditional, healthful foods.

[Sherman Logan]

The aristocrats were. It was a symbol of high birth to be fat.

The common people generally didn't get enough food to get really fat, and they got a lot of exercise earning a living.

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

Even Al Gore, who has the discipline and focus to control the weather, just can't stay away from a McDonald's drive through window. I think global bloating will be the next "big" cause. Maybe a movie like "Convenient Food" will open our eyes to the looming disaster.

[daybreakcoming]

Maybe a movie like "Convenient Food" will open our eyes to the looming disaster.

[tcostell]

"I wouldn't go so far as to call him fat, but the brother definitely got a weight problem ... what he gonna do he's Samoan"

[alnick]

There can also be cultural barriers when it comes to encouraging people to lose weight, as some groups in the South Pacific believe that beauty is marked by a large physical size.

I don't see why the WHO or anyone else should try to change these people. They're obviously doing what they want to do.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

A lot of the chieftains were "hefty," but still in shape (sumo wrestlers are also supposed to be in shape, even though they are very fat).

[RockinRight]

Or even GENDER which is even more puzzling.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

They shouldn't forcibly change them, but offering friendly advice is another thing.

[Right Wing Assault]

A lot of the chieftains were "hefty," but still in shape

Yeah, I wouldn't want to mess with those guys at all.

[Coleus]

I've seen some of those big and strong Samoan women get so excited on the Price is right they manhandled poor bob barker. He runs away from them when ever they go on stage.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

LOL! I just watched that movie yesterday!