According to the WHO, it is not true that obesity rates are higher in industrialized countries. This is evident base upon the data collated and shown in Figure 1, the diagram shows the top 9 countries that has the highest prevalence of obesity as define by the WHO as having more than or an equivalent BMI of 30. It is shown that the Nauru has the highest obesity rate followed by American Somoa, Tokalau, Tonga and other non-industrialized countries with exception to the relatively wealthier countries such as Saudi Arabia and the US. One observation from Figure 1 is that the top few countries are all from a similar geographic region, the pacific islands.  Nauru has one of the highest obesity prevalence in the world at 71.10% followed by the American Somoa at 74.6%, this is much higher as compared to industrialized countries like the US (33.9%). It is also important to note that most of the top ten countries have a higher obesity rate for woman, with the exception of Nauru that is relatively balance for both adult women and men.

Evans et al. (2001) describes the increasing prevalence of obesity in the nation of Tonga over time, his team analyzes the causes of this phenomenon and further reiterates the consequences of globalization and international trade. The study looks into the various impacts of imported food, and how the increasing consumption of imported food has led to the increase prevalence of obesity within its population. One should also note that Tonga is part of the pacific islands, and many of these reasons could also explain the obesity problems experienced by the pacific island nations stated in Figure 1.

Evans et al. (2001) proceeded to investigate the effects of imported food products, in which 430 Tongans were surveyed for their preferences, perceived nutritional value, and consumption frequency of common food ingredients. Results from the study suggests that Tongans does not have a preference for imported food products, and do have an accurate perception of food ingredients that are unhealthy. Thus, the authors conclude that the increase in consumption frequency is not correlated to increase in preference or the lack of nutritional education.

This study reiterates that the shift from low-fat, nutritious, indigenous source of food to high-fat, non-nutritious imported food products could be largely attributed to the phenomenon of substitution. That is, with trade liberalization the prices of imported food such as chicken parts, mutton flaps and bread are much lower than local, indigenous food sources such as indigenous chicken, fish, taro (local yams). This is supported Tonga’s deteriorating balance of trade from T$56 million at 1989 to T$90 million at 1999; sausage imports increase by 450 tons, while chicken imports increased drastically by 1780 tons. It should also be noted that the population growth rate during this period remained relatively constant. The impact of this increase in consumption of imported food ingredients have also shown to be relatively detrimental to domestic food security by discouraging local food production due to cost disadvantages (Evans et al., 2001) Thus, unlike that of Canada where education plays an important role in addressing obesity problems through alterations of perceptions and preferences, it seems that Tonga’s obesity plight is due to globalization and its impact that made nutritious domestic food products unaffordable for locals. Evans at al. (2001) also concluded that a ban on imported food products could likely improve Tonga’s obesity problem in the long run.

References

World Health Organization, (2009). Who global database on body mass index (bmi). Retrieved from website: http://apps.who.int/bmi/index.jsp?introPage=intro_1.html

EVANS, Mike; SINCLAIR, Robert C.; FUSIMALOHI, Caroline  and  LIAVA’A, Viliami. Globalization, diet, and health: an example from Tonga. Bull World Health Organ [online]. , vol.79, n.9 [cited  2013-02-01], pp. 856-862 . Available from: <http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0042-96862001000900011&lng=en&nrm=iso>. ISSN 0042-9686.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0042-96862001000900011.