WHO Supports Pacific Islands To Manage Lifestyle

WHO Supports Pacific Islands To Manage Lifestyle Diseases Through Better Diet

Press release – 17 September 2010

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned the Pacific is facing an epidemic of lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease, all of which are linked to common risk factors such as an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use and alcohol abuse.

More than 2.4 million people in the region are affected. The Pacific has now outpaced the world in mortality from lifestyle diseases which now causes 75% of deaths, and there are indications that mortality and morbidity are rising as a result.

To strengthen Pacific island countries capacity to reduce and manage the dramatic increase of lifestyle diseases being faced in the region, WHO is convening a nutrition, diet and lifestyle workshop from 20 – 24 September 2010 in Guam,.

Dr Chen Ken, the WHO Representative in the South Pacific, said: “This workshop has a special focus on the northern Pacific to help scale up action to address unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. Countries will be guided by the Framework for Action on Food Security in the Pacific, which was endorsed by the Pacific Leaders in their latest meeting in August 2010 in Vanuatu as a road-map for implementing a comprehensive approach to food, nutrition and health. As part of a new emphasis in the Pacific, particular attention will be paid to addressing the 'marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children' and reducing salt consumption in pacific population. ”

WHO surveys carried out in the Pacific reveal the magnitude of these risks in relation to diet, physical activity and obesity. For instance, in the Federated States of Micronesia, 73.1% of the general population (25–64 years old) were overweight and 42.6% of those obese, whilst in the Marshall Islands 62.5% (15-64 years old) were overweight, 31.6% of which were obese. In the Marshall Islands, 91% consume less than five servings of fruit and vegetables per day, and 81.8% in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Multisectoral representatives from American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and Palau will attend the workshop which will be held at the Hilton Resort and Spa.

The Workshop on Nutrition, Diet and Lifestyle: Scaling Up Action in the Pacific, is organized by WHO in collaboration with Secretariat of the Pacific Community, UNICEF, FAO, US CDC and Department of Health, Guam.

ENDS

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