‘Uiha, Isle Of Healthy Fat Folk

The tendency of Tongans to obesity has been the subject of international attention from two widely-different directions in recent times.

A team of Japanese o "ntists is in the midst of a threeyear survey of the health of the inhabitants of the island of ‘Uiha, in the Haapai Group, the least affected of all Tongan islands by the effects of civilisation.

Focus of their research is to learn why the ’Uiha people, while uniformly obese, are free from such adult or geriatric diseases as high blood-pressure, heart ailments and diabetes.

The islanders examined were 50 men and 58 women, including two in their 80s and nine in their 70s.

The men were on average 175.1 centimetres (fft 9 in) tall and 81.4 kilogrammes (13 stone) in weight, while the women were 161.5 centimetres (5 ft 4 in) tall and 74.2 kilogrammes (11 stone 7 lb) in weight.

None of them was found to be suffering from diabetes, and their electrocardiographs re gistered no heart disorders, Their nutritive condition was found to be perfect, The scientists said that even old people who were over weight still worked hard, Scientific curiosity about the subject doesn’t appear to rate very high among New Zealand immigration officials, According to Tongan medical-social worker. Leopino

Foliaki, a number of Tongan citizens have been refused permanent residence in New Zealand because they are “too fat”.

He told a medical seminar at Auckland University: “New Zealanders consider obesity one of the greatest diseases. But we like to see our people strong and muscular, and able to resisf violence.

“ ‘Another obese Poly nesian’, a doctor will think as an Islander walks through his door. Islanders like putting on weight . . . yet Islanders are being rejected for permanent entry because they are over weight. ”

He dismissed as inconclusive a European argument that fatness shortened the life span.

“ You complain that people will drop dead at 65 from being obese. Why not drop dead at 65? You’ve served your time But the Tongan health picture is not all rosy, according to Senituli Koloi, Tongan Wesleyan minister. He says he has observed much stress and illness among the 40,000 people who have consulted him during his six years work as a counsellor and faith healer. The main cause, he says, is poverty.

In an effort to alleviate this, he has set up a shop in Auckland’s Ponsonby Road which will provide a market for Tongan produce handicrafts and vegetables in particular and also a new meeting place for the city’s Tongan residents.