Tackling obesity issues

A senior Pacific official says it might be time for a rethink on how the world tackles the global obesity epidemic.

Dr Colin Tukuitonga, the Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, has been appointed to the WHO’s Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity.

The World Health Organisation says 40 million children worldwide under the age of five were overweight or obese in 2012 – this number could rise to 70 million in 2025 if the current trends continue.

In the 16 Pacific nations where data is available, more than half the adult population is overweight.

A recent global School-based Student Health Survey found that in one Pacific Island nation in 2010, 62 per cent of boys, and 58 per cent of girls between the ages of 13 and 15 were overweight or obese.

Dr Tukuitonga says a different strategy might provide better results.

“The number of cases of obesity in children and young people continues to rise and that tells us that whatever we are doing it’s not having the impact that we desire,” he said.

“There are clearly some things that have the potential to work, or at least show some promise of being effective.”

He says the Commission is an important global mission to provide guidance to countries which are tackling obesity.

“This is a huge issue in this part of the world, more so in fact than in many parts of the world,” he said.

“For the Pacific, there’s a huge awareness and a consciousness of the problem we face and so it’s really good to be able to make this link with the global developments.”