Al-Jazeera has been doing a special series on the tiny Oceania island of Nauru, which is so small that the U.S. ambassador to Fiji just takes care of whatever issues arise on the South Pacific island and defense is left to nearby Australia. Only one square kilometer of the coral atoll is fit for producing food. So Nauruans, once living in one of the richest countries but now suffering with depleted phosphate reserves, live on a plethora of processed foods. And these are the results:
- "Roughly four fifths of the island's 13,500 population are obese and an estimated 30 per cent has diabetes.
Most of them are type-two diabetes, caused by a lack of exercise and poor diet.
Just three per cent of Nauruans eat fruit and vegetables regularly, opting instead for processed and fast foods.
That means Nauruans have a dramatically reduced life expectancy – for men it's under 50 years."
And solutions aren't easy: The government is trying to get residents to walk more, but telling them to grow more of their own food is easier said than done in a drought-stricken region left with over-mined land. Meanwhile, medical experts have descended upon the island, seeing the high prevalence of disease and uniform lifestyle choices as a chance to learn more about diabetes.
(Map: U.S. State Department)
Comments
Your story on Nauru is poorly reearched. How could you say that “…the US Ambassador to Fiji just takes care of whatever arise on the South Pacific island and defense is left to nearby Australia”. The last time I check, Nauru was an independent democratic country with its own flag, national anthem and a seat at the UN. Nauru has good relations with the US and enjoys a very close relationship with Australia. Neither of these two countries however dictate domestic or foreign policies on the island since it gained independence in 1968. Who knows, Nauru may one day recognise Qatar.
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