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Pacific Islands in top 10 countries for obesity, diabetes
WHO reports that 70-75 percent of deaths in Pacific due to related diseases
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier/PIDP)—Pacific Islands are in the top 10 countries with the highest rates of obesity as well as diabetes, a report from the World Health Organization says about these non-communicable diseases.
WHO defines non-communicable disease as a medical condition or disease that by definition is non-infectious and non-transmissible among people.
NCDs may be chronic diseases of long duration and slow progression, or they may result in more rapid death such as some types of sudden stroke.
They include autoimmune diseases, heart disease, stroke, many cancers, asthma, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cataracts, and more.
Key findings in this report state NCDs account for around 70 to 75 percent of all deaths in the Pacific Islands. Many of these NCD-related deaths are premature and a predictable.
Most of the trends and risk factors point to a worsening of the situation. The top 10 countries with the highest rates of diabetes in the world are in the Pacific Islands; 52.45 percent of adult males in Tonga are estimated to be obese. In Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, and Samoa, adult female obesity is estimated to be 50 percent or more.
The report further states NCDs impose large but often preventable financial costs on already overstretched government health budgets. Several NCD-related programs in the Pacific Islands are already unsustainable financially.
However, there are proven, affordable, and cost-effective interventions.
