Tuesday December 4, 04:30 PM

Pacific the Capital of Obesity

According to the International Obesity Taskforce, never in the history of the human race have so many people been so fat - and the Pacific region takes the title as the world's capital of obesity. A report tabled at a Commonwealth health ministers meeting in New Zealand blames the trend on lack of exercise, and a move away from traditional diets to fatty western-style foods. Also a problem in the Pacific is the cultural notion that being big is a sign of wealth and power. Pacific island women take the cake - and obviously eat it too! 55 percent of Tongan women, 74 percent of Samoan women, and 77 percent of men and women in Nauru are considered obese.

New Zealand's multi-cultural society provides an opportunity to compare statistics. Across the board, 19 percent of women in NZ are obese - but 27 percent of Maori women and 47 percent of Pacific Island women in NZ fall into the obese category. Fattening societies around the world are placing huge burdens on health care systems, as well as on individual health. According to the Taskforce, the amount of hours spent watching TV has a direct effect on the obesity of children. The world needs to be more active. Some ideas being thrown up to reduce the obesity problem include making children walk or cycle to school, and limiting the size of portions served at fast-food restaurants. Increased taxes and health warnings on high-fat foods may even be necessary - just like on cigarette packets.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/011204/12/1jkk.html

Taxation of high-fat foods instead of high-sugar and carbs, and limiting portions (i.e. more low and lower calorie).

Either this task force is too ignorant about the real culprit (sugar and carbs); or they benefit financially when healthy foods are taxed, and diet products from sponsors and low-fat, low-calorie products (even slimfat and WW) are shoved on people (since they will appear resonably priced) and cause a few more decades in the growth of obesity.

Solution: Strip out the politics and financial interest and follow the medical and biochemical research: Promote low-carb!

Wa'il

I was very interested in this study - I am off to NZ in January, so I will keep my eyes open to see if I can tell visually whether this report has any substance with respect to the numbers.
Cheers

Thanks for posting that article Wa'il. I live in New Zealand, and have to agree with their statistics. Having worked in an acute care hospital it is very sad to see all the health problems that people are having at younger and younger ages. And knowing what I know now I put it all down to a diet high in carbs- especially highly processed carbs and trans fats, you should see all the advertising there is about how healthy margarine is, it's enough to make you sick! oh, it does, doesn't it?
What makes me really sad is the number of overweight children here. I feel like going up to their parents and telling them about low carb, but I don't think it'd be very well recieved.
Having worked along side doctors in hospital, I can honestly say that they don't have a clue about the health benefit's of low carb, so how can they tell their patients? All they know is what they've been taught is "right". It's the same with Dietitians. I had the funniest time a while ago talking to a dietitian about low carb, and low carb eating for diabetics. She thought I was mad, no dangerous, to even suggest the concept of low carb for diabetics. Unfortunately Dr Bernsteins Diabetes solution is not available here, for sale or in the library, so I haven't read it, but would LOVE to one day.
When will the people in power decide to acknowledge the facts and share them with the rest of the population? The media loves to tell everyone here how dangerous low carbing is. TThere was a documentary on a while ago with 6 NZ'ers and Lesley Kenton (?) helping them to do varying degrees of low carb, ALL had improved blood work and lost weight, but for a few weeks after the program was aired we were bombarded with newspapers, magazines and TV telling us how bad it is, and just eat low fat, you'll be fine. It'd be funny if I weren't so sad.
Well enough of me rambling on, it just makes me so frustrated!!
I'll just have to spread the word myself...
Angela

Thanks for sharing Angela! It's great to hear a confirmation from locals that it's a high-carb problem, and not due to fat itself.

Wa'il