Nauru rejects ‘fattest nation on earth’ tag

A tiny Pacific island branded the 'fattest nation on earth' has lashed out at the tag, claiming that its people are stocky rather than obese and that the measurement employed to define 'overweight' among Caucasians should not apply to them.
 
Dr Setareki Vanucawaqa, the director of public health on Nauru, where 95 per cent of the population have a BMI measurement of over 25, told Radio Australia that he did not agree with the idea that his country was the fattest on the planet - a title awarded to it last month.
 
"Genetically Nauruans are short and of stocky build," he said. "It depends on the observer who may perceive them as being overweight. Among others it may be perceived as being normal.
 
"Using a BMI of 25 to define who is overweight or not among Caucasians may not apply to other races such as Nauruans."
 
He also pointed out that Nauru has a history of producing world class weighlifters and added that most members of the All Blacks rugby team, who, like Nauruans, are mostly of Polynesian descent, would have a BMI in excess of 25.
 
Nauru was labelled the most overweight country on the planet by the Global Post website, which made the claim last month after analysing data from the World Health Organisation. It noted: "Nauruans historically engaged in fattening ceremonies, where well-born young women were kept inside and fed to excess."
 
According to its league table, eight of the 10 fattest nations in the world are island states in the Pacific.
 
Dr Vanucawaqa accepted that many Nauruans were overweight but said that the government had implemented a public health campaign, which includes a weekly public walk around the island's airstrip. He said a reliance on imported processed food contributed to the country's problems with obesity and diabetes.
 
Nauru, a former German colony which lies 28 mile south of the equator and has a population of less than 10,000, was briefly the richest country in the world on account of its phosphate deposits. However, they were exhausted by the 1970s and the country slid towards bankruptcy. During the 2000s it accepted money from Australia in return for acting as a detention centre for asylum seekers. ·