Rapid review of factors influencing dietary behaviors in Fiji.

Introduction: In Fiji, multiple burdens of malnutrition including undernutrition, overweight/obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies coexist at the individual, household, and population levels. The diets of children, adolescents, and adults are generally unhealthy. The objective of this review was to understand how the dietary behaviors of children, adolescents, and women in Fiji are influenced by individual, social, and food environment factors.

Packaged food supply in Fiji: nutrient levels, compliance with sodium targets and adherence to labelling regulations.

Objective: To estimate the proportion of products meeting Fiji government labelling regulations, assess compliance with national Na reformulation targets and examine the Na and total sugar levels in packaged foods sold in selected major supermarkets.

Design: We selected five major supermarkets in 2018 and collected the product information and nutritional content from the labels of all packaged foods sold. We organised 4278 foods into fourteen major food categories and thirty-six sub-categories and recorded the proportion of products labelled in accordance with the Fiji labelling regulations.

Impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture and food systems in Pacific Island countries (PICs): Evidence from communities in Fiji and Solomon Islands.

Context: COVID-19 mitigation measures including border lockdowns, social distancing, de-urbanization and restricted movements have been enforced to reduce the risks of COVID-19 arriving and spreading across PICs. To reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19 mitigation measures, governments have put in place a number of interventions to sustain food and income security. Both mitigation measures and interventions have had a number of impacts on agricultural production, food systems and dietary diversity at the national and household levels.

Processed Foods and Nutrition Transition in the Pacific: Regional Trends, Patterns and Food System Drivers.

Background: The role of processed foods in nutrition transition in the Pacific is receiving some attention in the context of a significant obesity and diet-related noncommunicable disease health burden. However, trends, patterns and underlying drivers of processed food markets in the Pacific are not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate recent trends and patterns of processed food markets in the region and interpret the findings by engaging key literature on relevant food systems drivers.

Diabetes incidence and projections from prevalence surveys in Fiji.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) incidence is traditionally derived from cohort studies that are not always feasible, representative, or available. The present study estimates T2DM incidence in Fijian adults from T2DM prevalence estimates assembled from surveys of 25-64 year old adults conducted over 30 years (n = 14,288).

Methods: T2DM prevalence by five-year age group from five population-based risk factor surveys conducted over 1980-2011 were variously adjusted for urban-rural residency, ethnicity, and sex to previous censuses (1976, 1986, 1996, 2009) to improve representativeness.

Declines and Plateaux in Smoking Prevalence Over Three Decades in Fiji.

Objectives: To examine trends from 1980 to 2011 in daily tobacco smoking by sex, ethnicity, age, and urban/rural in Fiji Melanesian (i-Taukei) and Indian adults aged 25-64 years.

Methods: Unit record data from five population-based surveys (n = 14 528) allowed classification of participants as: (1) never-smoker, ex-smoker, or non-daily smoker; or (2) daily smoker, reporting smoking <20 or ≥20 tobacco products (cigarettes/cigars/pipes) a day. Trends were examined using spline analyses.

Factors influencing fruit and vegetable intake among urban Fijians: A qualitative study.

Low fruit and vegetable intake is an important risk factor for micronutrient deficiencies and non-communicable diseases, but many people worldwide, including most Fijians, eat less than the World Health Organization recommended amount. The present qualitative study explores factors that influence fruit and vegetable intake among 57 urban Fijians (50 women, 7 men) of indigenous Fijian (iTaukei) and South Asian (Indian) descent. Eight focus group discussions were held in and around Suva, Fiji's capital and largest urban area, which explored motivation for eating fruit and vegetables, understandings of links to health and disease, availability and sources, determinants of product choice, and preferred ways of preparing and eating fruit and vegetables.

Continued increases in hypertension over three decades in Fiji, and the influence of obesity.

Objectives: To analyse trends during 1980-2011 in hypertension prevalence and SBP/DBP by sex in Fiji Melanesian (i-Taukei) and Indian adults aged 25-64 years; and to assess effects of BMI.

Methods: Unit record data from five population-based surveys were included (n = 14, 191). Surveys were adjusted to the nearest previous census to improve national representativeness.

Experiences and challenges in implementing complex community-based research project: the Pacific Obesity Prevention in Communities project.

Policy makers throughout the world are struggling to find effective ways to prevent the rising trend of obesity globally, particularly among children. The Pacific Obesity Prevention in Communities project was the first large-scale, intervention research project conducted in the Pacific aiming to prevent obesity in adolescents. The project spanned four countries: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.