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A Tongan health expert has provided a piece of important advice amid Tongans’ struggle with an alarming death rate that is attributed to non-communicable diseases.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death in Tonga, accounting for 79.4 per cent of deaths in 2019.
Tonga is one of the top countries in the world with the highest obesity rate.
Various reports indicate that obesity has serious implications, potentially leading to excess body fat that can trigger inflammation, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.
Assistant Professor Pakieli Kaufusi recommended that Tongans adopt a more proactive approach to healthcare by scheduling regular health screenings rather than only visiting doctors when feeling unwell.
He made the advice recently during an online livestream health advice.
The session was one of his ongoing series aimed at providing comprehensive guidance on various health topics specifically tailored for individuals with diabetes.
The professor, at the University of Hawai’i’s Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, delved into the main parts of the body that diabetes can significantly impact, including the liver, cardiovascular system, kidneys, and pancreas.
He said the liver plays a crucial role in detoxification, metabolism, and overall health.
He also said it’s a common practice in European cultures to see a doctor consistently, whereas Tongans typically only visit when they are unwell.
He believed this approach could be detrimental to overall health.
Tonga and obesity
A recent health study revealed that nine out of 10 countries with the most number of obese people in the world are from the Pacific.
The research published in The Lancet ranked American Samoa as the most obese nation in the world, followed by Tonga, which has the highest number of obese women.
As Kaniva News reported previously, there was an upward trend of Tongan children being orphaned in New Zealand due to their parents dying young because of diabetes-related conditions, according to another Tonga health expert.
Some Pacific Islanders, who were in their 40s, have died of diabetes, while others ended up on dialysis treatment at Middlemore Hospital.
Dr Viliami Tūtone, a Tongan nephrologist at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital, said some Tongan orphans have been as young as 10 years old.
These children “have no mothers and the number is expected to grow”, he told Kaniva Tonga news in an exclusive interview.
“When patients are brought for dialysis their bodies have already been hugely affected by the damage to their vascular system and problems with the kidneys,” he said.
Tongan foods
Professor Kaufusi said Tongan foods are good but must be wisely managed and reduced.
He was referring to root vegetables such as yams, taro, and cassava, which have a lot of carbohydrates. Various reports say carbohydrates (carbs) can be part of a healthy diet for people with diabetes, but it’s important to choose the right ones and eat them in the right amounts.
Professor Kaufusi said that nutrients in food consumed daily by Tongans are roughly 90 per cent sugar or glucose. However, he pointed out that the body only requires 10 percent of that amount.
The remainder can pose a challenge for the body’s organs to digest, potentially leading to significant damage over time, he said.
