Obesity is a major issue for the Republic of Nauru. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that 94.5% of Nauruans are overweight or obese, [1] with an obesity rate of 71.7%. [2]
Nauru is known to have the highest rates of obese inhabitants worldwide. [3] The average body weight among Nauruans is approximately 100 kilograms (220 lb). [2] Nauru has an average BMI between 34 and 35. [4]
There are multiple factors contributing to obesity in Nauru. Since the 1980s, Nauruans have led a sedentary lifestyle with an unhealthful diet, contributing to "the worst health conditions in the Pacific region." [2]
The historical food sources of Nauruans were fishing and gardening. The traditional Nauruan diet was primarily composed of marine fish, fruits, [2] root vegetables, and coconuts. [3] Nauru gained independence in 1968 due to an increase in economic growth from mining activities. The garnered profits were distributed amongst the citizens, leading to an outflux in citizen labor. The Government of Nauru and WHO stated that the import of western food significantly reduced the existing culture of fishing and gardening, which led to mineral depletion and economical downturn of the nation.
Approximately 90% of the land area of Nauru is covered with phosphate deposits, with the majority strip-mined and non-arable. This has led to Nauruan reliance on processed food, high in both sugar and fat, imported from large Oceanian countries such as Australia and New Zealand. [5] [3]
University of Queensland professor and South Pacific researcher Clive Moore stated that obesity is mistakenly seen as a sign of wealth in Nauru. [3]
Nauru has the highest rate of adult diabetes worldwide. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) identified 31% of Nauruans as diabetic, [5] with rates as high as 45% among individuals aged from 55 to 64 years. [3] It is a small island country with the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the world. [6] 71% of the population is obese. 97% of men are overweight; the percentage of women who are overweight is only slightly lower. [6]
As more and more money went to healthcare, less went to prevention, and this led to a cycle. Nauru also suffered from poor healthcare, worsening the problem. [6] With much of the landscape destroyed from phosphate farming, Nauru was forced to import food resources from Western countries, leading to a sharp increase in consumption of processed food. With healthy food depleted from the island, obesity rates continued to climb. [6] Due to the cultural association of obesity with wealth, many Nauruans began to view a sedentary lifestyle as preferable to one of hard work and physical exercise, further worsening the crisis. [6]
Nauruan health authorities have developed several measures to reduce obesity, such as advising people to walk around the perimeter of the Nauru International Airport, which measures to 3 miles (4.8 km) in distance. Additionally, exercise sessions and sports are regularly organised. [3]
Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Micronesia, part of Oceania in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba of Kiribati, about 300 km (190 mi) to the east.
The demographics of Nauru, an island country in the Pacific Ocean, are known through national censuses, which have been analysed by various statistical bureaus since the 1920s. The Nauru Bureau of Statistics have conducted this task since 1977—the first census since Nauru gained independence in 1968. The most recent census of Nauru was on 30 October 2021, when population had reached 11,680 people. The population density is 554 inhabitants per square kilometre, and the overall life expectancy is 63.9 years. The population rose steadily from the 1960s until 2006 when the Government of Nauru repatriated thousands of Tuvaluan and I-Kiribati workers from the country. Since 1992, Nauru's birth rate has exceeded its death rate; the natural growth rate is positive. In terms of age structure, the population is dominated by the 15–59-year-old segment (57%). The median age of the population is 21.6, and the estimated gender ratio of the population is 101.8 males per 100 females.
The economy of Nauru is tiny, based on a population in 2019 of only 11,550 people. The economy has historically been based on phosphate mining. With primary phosphate reserves exhausted by the end of the 2010s, Nauru has sought to diversify its sources of income. In 2020, Nauru's main sources of income were the sale of fishing rights in Nauru's territorial waters, and revenue from the Regional Processing Centre.
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