1. Nutrient intake in the Kingdom of Tonga: associations with overweight, obesity and glucose tolerance
- Abstract
Diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and other non-communicable diseases (NCD) have become the major cause of premature death, morbidity and disability in many Pacific countries including Tonga. There has been little research which specifically examined detail food intake and nutrient composition in the Tongan populationThis study aim to determine the national nutrient intake in Tonga and to identify associations between nutrient intake with overweight, obesity and glucose tolerance. A sample of 1024 people aged 15 years and older from the three main islands of Tonga took part on this study. Information about the usual food and nutrient intake was collected by Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), and analysed with the Australian Food Works program. Lifestyle behaviours such as physical activity, alcohol and smoking status, the use of traditional medicine, occupation and religion practices were also collected. Anthropometric and clinical measurement including weight, height, body mass index, body fat, blood pressure, lipid profiles, fasting glucose, HbA1c, creatinine and microalbumin levels were measured.The study indicated that the Tongan population is consuming a very high energy diet, with 59% of energy from carbohydrate, 15% from protein and 22% from fat intake. The mean (± SD) daily total energy intake was 4856 ± 2304 kcal and males consumed significantly more than females (5308 ± 2366 vs 4522 ± 2201 kcal, p= 0.009) with minor differences in nutrient intake patterns in the more urban Tongatapu compared with the rural Vavau/Haapai groups. Alcohol consumption and smoking was much more common among men than women and was higher in Tongatapu than the Vavau/Haapai participants. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Tonga is very high, 93% in women and 84% in men. There has been a significant increase in the prevalence among Tongans which has increased at least four-fold in men and almost doubles among women in the past 12 years.Tonga is experiencing in
- Published
- 2007