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What can diets and food systems do to prevent obesity and non-communicable diseases in Fiji?










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    Book (stand-alone)
    Promoting Healthy Diets through Nutrition Education and Changes in the Food Environment: an International Review of Actions and their Effectiveness
    Background Paper for the International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2)
    2013
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    According to the World Health Organization (WHO), of the 57 million global deaths in 2008, 36 million, or 63%, were due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), principally ca rdiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases (WHO, 2011a). Nearly 80% of these deaths occur in low-and middle-income countries. Deaths from NCDs are projected to continue to rise worldwide, with the greatest increases expected in low- and middle-income regions. An unhealthy diet i s one of the key risk factors for NCDs. For example, inadequate consumption of fruit and vegetables increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases and several cancers; high salt consumption is an important determinant of high blood pressure and cardiovascular risk and increases the risk of stomach cancer; high consumption of saturated fats and trans-fatty acids is linked to heart disease; a range of dietary factors have been linked with diabetes; red and processed meat consumption is linked with some cancers (WHO, 2003; Steyn et al., 2004; WCRF, 2007). In addition, excessive energy intake leads to overweight and obesity, which is linked with a range of health problems, including NCDs (WHO, 2000). Diabetes has particularly strong associations with obesity (Steyn et al., 2004), and evidence shows associations between body fatness and some leading cancers (WCRF, 2007). The WHO estimates that 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese (WHO, 2011a). The prevalence of overweight is highest in upper-middle-income countries but very high levels are also reported from some lower-middle income countries in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, and it is reported to be rising throughout low- and middle-income countries.Since the FAO/WHO International Conference of Nutrition in 1992, unhealthy eating patterns have been increasing around the world. For example, fat intake has been rising rapidly in lower -middle-income countries since the 1980s (WHO, 2011a). Between 1992 and 2007, a disproportionate amount of the per capita increase in calorie availability1 came from sugar and meat (Mazzocchi et al., 2012). Patterns of eating have also changed, with an increase in snacking, skipping meals, eating meals out of a family setting, and eating out of the home.
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    Document
    Using Taxation to Address Noncommunicable Diseases: Lessons from Tonga 2019
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    Tonga has experienced a high burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the past two decades. Data indicate the continuing rise of four major NCDs -cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer,and respiratory diseases – as the leading causes of premature death and disability. According to latest data, NCDs accounted for four out of five leading causes of mortality in Tonga, and 99.9 percent of Tongan adults aged 25–64 are at moderate to high risk of developing an NCD. The increase in behavioral-related risk factors such as smoking, poor diet (e.g. high in sugar, salt, trans-fat and saturated fat, and low in fruit, vegetables, legumes, fish etc.), harmful alcohol intake, and physical inactivity are acknowledged as the major contributing factors to the rise in NCDs in Tonga. According to its 2012 STEPS Survey, Tonga has one of the highest rates of overweight and obesity.
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    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    Tackling Obesity and Diet-related Chronic Diseases
    Transforming food systems for health and wellbeing
    2019
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    Obesity and its associated non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become a major contributor to adult disease and death. More and more people are becoming overweight and obese and growing numbers are dying from illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer. Driving this global shift in malnutrition and NCDs are unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour. Our food systems and food environments are not delivering the diets needed to promote and sustain optimum health. FAO is working with the public and private sectors to reform them – advising on and transforming the way food is produced, collected, stored, transported, processed and distributed – to improve diets and health and to address the impact on natural resources.

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