Re: obesity & diabetes Pacific islands

[Guest guest]

I was listening to Radio New Zealand ( available over Internet as well as on international shortwave ) and caught a news item which began with the the headline that the King of Tonga had issued an edict that his subjects not become obese and not eat such foods as mutton flaps. In January 2002 the country hired a weight-loss company, Gutbusters, to come in and advise on reversing this trend. 2/3 of the population is described as obese and the average Tongan male consumes 5500 calories a day. In Nauru, 80% of the population is described as obese. These small, low income Pacific island nations cannot afford the economic consequences of the resulting diabetes epidemic. Hue ( Albany, OR )