Book Description

This paper attempts to collect documented evidence to examine the relationship between the food supply, dietary patterns and obesity in Pacific countries. It draws on dietary studies and reviews undertaken over the last 80 years and documented accounts of diets since evidence or food crop consumption in the Pacific was established over 28 000 years ago. Section 1 gives a short account of obesity, emphasizing that it is a growing epidemic that has affected urban communities. Section 2 discusses and defines a healthy diet for a population. In section 3, a view of food consumption patterns is given from Pacific pre-civilization and pre-European contact times to show the conservative and homogeneous nature of Pacific communities. Pacific dietary studies are reviewed in section 4, with emphasis on the contributions of micronutrients to energy. The section starts with individual country data, listing countries alphabetically. The food supply is then examined and analyzed, with data from FAO Food Balance Sheets from seven Pacific countries. This section ends with a short account of food dependence. Conclusions are then given in section 5. There is a large reference list, and food supply data are provided in the Annexes.