Obesity is taking a toll on our island neighbours

RICHARD MARLES
THE PUNCH

TRAVELLING TO THE PACIFIC always intensifies my relationship with food.

Every visit is accompanied by unsurpassed hospitality which yields an avalanche of food. The only way of avoiding the fate of a French force-fed goose is to develop the capacity to say “no”. And, sadly, my record of saying “no” to food is less than impressive.

Bravely I struggle with mountains of yam cake and roasted pork. I wade through rivers of boiled taro and raw fish in coconut sauce. And in the great contest between denying myself culinary gratification and yielding to the joy of eating, the result is always the same: a greatly expanded girth.

There have been times when this would have been seen as an asset in the Pacific. Traditions of power used to bestow the lion’s share of it on the very large. King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, the longest serving King of Tonga, at his peak weighed 209kg, setting a record for the world’s heaviest monarch. He was very big, very powerful and very loved.

But times change and well they should. As the deleterious health effects of obesity became apparent King Taufa’ahau went on a diet. In the process he led a campaign of better eating and exercise which saw him shrink to a mere 130kg. He went on to live a long life of 88 years.

Yet tragically, King Taufa’ahau’s example has not been replicated throughout the Pacific, for the Pacific has become more and more obese. Non-communicable diseases are the new scourge of the region.

Nauru has within its tiny population the highest rate of diabetes in the world. The average life expectancy for men is just 49 years of age.

The problem is traditional unprocessed foods are being replaced by processed foods where the nutritional value has been destroyed through the process of sterilisation and preservation.

Taro, yam and fresh fish are not the issue. Poor quality processed food is.

This food is cheap and the result is that it has left the Pacific literally eating itself to death.

Of course the problem of diets based increasingly on processed food is not unique to the Pacific or the developing world. The prevalence of NCD’s is a major problem in Australia as we grapple with an alarming increase in childhood obesity.

But relative affluence and choice provide options for those of us living in urban Australia. When there is only one shop and price means everything, the choices – which do exist in the Pacific – are harder to make.

The solutions to this problem are neither easy nor quick. Yet there are elements of culture which can help.

The Pacific is a sports loving part of the world. In Australia’s development assistance we engage in sports outreach. Be it netball, rugby or cricket, the emphasis of our work is on encouraging people to get active and encouraging governments to make the link between sports policy and health policy.

Some of the best fruit in the world is grown in the Pacific and there are efforts afoot to try have people eat more of it. In Pohnpei, Australia is supporting the fresh fruit and vegetable initiative which is a campaign that aims to reincorporate the amazing bounty of local fruit and vegetables back into the local diet. 

Part of the solution lies also in better food regulation. For example, in Australia, folic acid is added to our bread. Folic acid supplements have been shown to signficantly reduce infant mortality and disability.

Likewise mandating mineral and vitamin additives such as iodine into food bound for the Pacific could help. So too could better standards around the content of fat in imported meat and tinned food.

If the Millennium Development Goals around health are to be met in the Pacific then NCD’s have to be licked. In the midst of public campaigns and public policy, personal responsibility also has a role to play. Limping along with my own diet, I am certainly familiar with all the challenges associated with that.

While this may be the biggest barrier standing between me and my fitness, let’s hope the Pacific fares better.

Richard Marles is Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs

Comments

[Colin Huggins]

I do but wonder, how many of these gentlemen, note all males, have actually been in their capacity to PNG as Foreign Ministers and if some have, to where and what places, besides the Parliament precincts, the Australian High Commission and the top hotel that they stayed at, maybe some did when it was TPNG?

Maybe if the LNP gains power, then Julie Bishop might be the first? I doubt it, she may fly over enroute from Brisbane or Cairns. Not real sure of flight paths from Sydney, Canberra or Melbourne, as she flies to Beijing or Tokyo.

And as she lives in Perth - no way at all. Flying to Jakarta, European Capitals and Washington - the only way if the pilot of the VIP RAAF plane can't read instruments. I think that pilot would have a short career.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_for_Foreign_Affairs_(Australia)

What shadow ministers say in opposition, rarely happens here once they are in government. Unlike Zebras, they change their stripes, or Leopards changing their spots. As Julie Bishop's electorate, like that of a former Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith of the Rudd government is in Perth, WA.

Maybe the LNP has someone lined up for the present "sinecure" as Parliamentary Secretary of Pacific Affairs. I await his/her version of
the culinary delights of the Pacific Island nations. Maybe the new version, will let us all know what wines to accompany the feasts?

[Lydia Kailap]

Mr Marles, please come into the settlements and check out the eating habits of the people there.

I can assure you we don't have a problem with obesity, as the solution is starvation and disease. Add a bit of violence and neglect and everyone is lean; if not dead.

[Colin Huggins]

Spot on Barbara! Good God! A food report from the "Office of the Sinecure, Parliamentary Secretary's Bureau of Responsibility of Pacific Affairs".

Appears that Richard Marles is becoming an authority on food and intake of it. I think we all know that the Tongan King was of rather large build. I think his mother was even bigger?

I suppose next Richard will give us his views on the drinks available when he visits his realm of responsibily in the Pacific. Nothing like a "drinky" to wash down the food.

I think the TV channels should get Richard to be a judge on those 'Master Chef Shows'? If he was good, it would
probably bring in more money than he is now getting!

Yes, Kevin, Richard Marles does amaze us all.

[Mrs Barbara Short]

Richard sounds like a typical Aussi tourist, and obviously in his "official" capacity he is shown great hospitality by the Pacific Islanders and knows a lot about their eating habits. He also has some empathy with the over-weight men and women of the Pacific.

But I hope that in his role as the Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs he realizes that he must also grapple with the bigger problems of the Pacific region.

Bob Carr and his wife seem to be trying to do this in Burma at the moment. Let's hope Carr will make some effort to visit PNG in the future and try to understand the PNG people and the problems that they face.

[Kevin O'Regan]

So Mr Marles are you going to put folic acid and iodine into the lamb flaps you continue to dump here.... you amaze me