Some scientists believe Tonga's problem is partly down to genetics - that Pacific islanders in the past had to survive long periods without food so their bodies are programmed to cling on to fats.
Nutrient transmission (change in diet) is the primary cause of the obesity epidemic in the Pacific Islands, with a high amount of imported foods high in salt and fat content grow.
Previously, it was thought that Pacific Islanders were genetically predisposed to obesity, but new research indicates that it may be the result of the introduction of Western diets to the islands.
The bigger body frame of the Pacific Islanders was once attributed to the history of traveling by canoe, working on the farms, and doing manual labor; however, modern technology has changed these physical activities to more sedentary lifestyles (Ulijaszek, 2003).
All 10 of the world's fattest countries were in the Pacific — with the remote island of Nauru holding the top spot. Almost nine in 10 people in Nauru are overweight, according to the data.
In 2017-18, two thirds (67.0%) of Australians 18 years and over were overweight or obese. Slightly more than a third (35.6%) were overweight and slightly less than a third were obese (31.3%). Just under one third (31.7%) were within the healthy weight range and one percent (1.3%) were underweight.
African American women have the highest rates of obesity or being overweight compared to other groups in the United States. About 4 out of 5 African American women are overweight or obese.
Recent studies based on a variety of approaches suggest that modern Polynesians derive from small-sized ancestral populations that were characterized by a large and heavy body-build, such characteristics probably having been acquired through selection associated with natural disasters.
In contrast, “the Polynesian bone phenotype” has been characterised as having higher bone density than that of European counterparts42. The International Osteoporosis Foundation is yet to map fracture incidence across the Pacific Islands comprehensively43.
In fact, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are more than three times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, compared to non-Hispanic whites. This is due to higher rates of risk factors such as being overweight and obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking.
Recent genetic studies at the University of Pittsburgh have discovered a gene variant which increases the risk of obesity by up to 30-40%, appears in a quarter of all Samoans!
New academic research across rural New Zealand has found Māori and low income people are likely to be more obese because they do not have access to exercise facilities such as gyms, ExerciseNZ chief executive Richard Beddie says. The Griffith University study is the first of its kind in New Zealand.
57.9% of adult (aged 18 years and over) women and 45.5% of adult men are living with obesity. Tonga's obesity prevalence is higher than the regional average of 31.7% for women and 30.4% for men and among the highest in the world.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the most obese countries are primarily located in the Pacific and the Middle East. The Pacific island nations of Nauru, Cook Islands, and Palau have the highest rates of obesity, with over 30% of their populations being classified as obese.
Tongans, a Polynesian group with a very small mixture of Melanesian, represent more than 98% of the inhabitants. The rest are European, mixed European, and other Pacific Islanders. There also are about 500 Chinese. More than two-thirds of the population of the Kingdom of Tonga live on its main island, Tongatapu.
The Polynesian people who settled a wide area of the tropical Pacific have a large and muscular body phenotype that appears to contradict the classical biological rules of Bergmann and Allen.
Individuals of African descent have higher bone density and fewer fractures than Caucasians, whereas Asians have lower fracture rates despite lower bone density.
Abstract. Bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture rates vary among women of differing ethnicities. Most reports suggest that BMD is highest in African-Americans, lowest in Asians, and intermediate in Caucasians, yet Asians have lower fracture rates than Caucasians.
Polynesians, whose features are Mongoloid, are tall and have lighter skin than Micronesians or Melanesians. Their hair is dark and either straight or wavy but not curled. Polynesian languages are all members of the family of Oceanic languages, a sub-branch of the Austronesian language family.
One possible reason: Polynesians typically have a higher proportion of body muscle. Other research has shown that New Zealanders of Indian origin have a higher body-fat percentage than New Zealanders of Polynesian origin with the same BMI. "It's an area of significant debate," Dr. Snowdon said.
Polynesian cuisine offers a wide variety of specialities, mostly based on seafood and exotic fruit, with French and Chinese influences. Dishes tend to use relatively few spices and often include coconut milk, ginger, lime, vanilla or tamarind.
Just like the Nordic decsendants of the Viking, their past environment greatly affected their present genetic make up. A very active lifestyle and a healthy plant and sea based diet allowed strong men and women to be forged.
Asians/Pacific Islanders had by far the lowest obesity rates.
1: Vietnam
Vietnam has a population of about 100 million, of which only 2.1% are obese. Poverty rates in Vietnam are high but dropping; they moved from 16.8% to 5% between 2010 and 2020. Vietnamese food is rich in waist-friendly foods, including vegetables, fish, and broth-based soups.
Asian women had the lowest prevalence of obesity, whereas AA women had the highest. Gender disparity in obesity prevalence appeared to be largest in AAs. Among men, ethnic disparities in obesity prevalence were largest between Latino and Asians.