Kessaram Tara, McKenzie Jeanie, Girin Natalie, Merilles Onofre Edwin A, Pullar Jessica, Roth Adam, White Paul, Hoy Damian
Public Health Division, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, BP D5 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia.
BMC Obes. 2015 Sep 16;2:34. doi: 10.1186/s40608-015-0062-4. eCollection 2015.
Overweight, obesity and their consequences are challenges to sustainable social and economic development in Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs). Complementing previous analyses for adults, the purpose of this paper is to synthesise available data on overweight, obesity and their risk factors in adolescents in the region. The resulting Pacific perspective for the younger generation will inform both the national and regional public health response to the crisis of noncommunicable diseases.
We examined the prevalence of overweight, obesity, physical activity and carbonated sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, by using published results of two cross-sectional surveys: the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). GSHS was conducted in ten PICTs between 2010 and 2013 and provided results for 13-15 year olds. YRBSS surveys, conducted repeatedly in five PICTs between 1999 and 2013, provided results for grade 9-12 students (approximately 14-18 years) and enabled examination of trends.
Obesity prevalence ranged from 0 % in female students in Vanuatu to 40 % in males in Niue (GSHS). Among grade 9-12 students (YRBSS), obesity was highest in American Samoa (40 % of males; 37 % of females). Approximately 60 % of students in the Cook Islands, Niue and Tonga (GSHS) and American Samoa (YRBSS), were overweight. In both surveys, less than half of students reported engaging in sixty minutes of physical activity on at least 5 days of the past week. Daily consumption of carbonated SSBs in the past month was reported by over 42 % of students in six PICTs (GSHS), and in the past week by more than 18 % of students in three PICTs (YRBSS). In PICTs conducting YRBSS, obesity prevalence remained high or increased within the period 1999-2013.
There is a need for urgent action on overweight, obesity and their risk factors in Pacific youth. The multiple social, economic and physical determinants of this public health crisis must be addressed. This requires all sectors within government and society in PICTs to implement and evaluate policies that will protect and promote the health of their populations across the life course.
超重、肥胖及其后果对太平洋岛国和领土（PICTs）的社会和经济可持续发展构成挑战。作为对先前针对成年人分析的补充，本文旨在综合该地区青少年超重、肥胖及其风险因素的现有数据。由此得出的关于年轻一代的太平洋视角，将为国家和地区针对非传染性疾病危机的公共卫生应对措施提供参考。
我们利用两项横断面调查的已发表结果，即全球学校学生健康调查（GSHS）和青少年风险行为监测系统（YRBSS），来研究超重、肥胖、身体活动以及碳酸含糖饮料（SSB）消费的患病率。GSHS于2010年至2013年在10个PICTs开展，提供了13 - 15岁青少年的调查结果。YRBSS调查于1999年至2013年在5个PICTs反复进行，提供了9至12年级学生（约14 - 18岁）的调查结果，并能对趋势进行研究。
肥胖患病率在瓦努阿图女学生中为0%，在纽埃男学生中为40%（GSHS）。在9至12年级学生中（YRBSS），美属萨摩亚的肥胖率最高（男性为40%；女性为37%）。在库克群岛、纽埃和汤加（GSHS）以及美属萨摩亚（YRBSS），约60%的学生超重。在两项调查中，不到一半的学生报告在过去一周至少5天内进行了60分钟的体育活动。在6个PICTs中，超过42%的学生报告在过去一个月每天饮用碳酸SSB（GSHS），在3个PICTs中，超过18%的学生报告在过去一周饮用（YRBSS）。在开展YRBSS的PICTs中，1999年至2013年期间肥胖患病率居高不下或有所上升。
太平洋地区青少年的超重、肥胖及其风险因素问题亟需采取紧急行动。必须应对这一公共卫生危机的多重社会、经济和身体决定因素。这要求PICTs的政府和社会各部门实施并评估各项政策，以在整个生命历程中保护和促进其民众的健康。
