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How paradise became the fattest place in the world

By Meera Senthilingam, for CNN

Updated 0944 GMT (1744 HKT) May 1, 2015

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The Pacific islands are home to nine of the top 10 countries for obesity globally. Rates of obesity range from 35% to 50% in the region and one in five children are estimated to be obese.
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The Pacific islands are home to nine of the top 10 countries for obesity globally. Rates of obesity range from 35% to 50% in the region and one in five children are estimated to be obese.
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The obesity epidemic began with locals turning their backs on traditional diets of fresh fish and vegetables and replacing them with highly processed and energy-dense food such as white rice, flour, canned foods, processed meats and soft drinks imported from other countries. Pictured, a supermarket in Tonga.
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The obesity epidemic began with locals turning their backs on traditional diets of fresh fish and vegetables and replacing them with highly processed and energy-dense food such as white rice, flour, canned foods, processed meats and soft drinks imported from other countries. Pictured, a supermarket in Tonga.
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Once a source of their own food, fishermen are today selling their catch to buy large quantities of processed and canned foods, including canned tuna.
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Once a source of their own food, fishermen are today selling their catch to buy large quantities of processed and canned foods, including canned tuna.
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Increasingly sedentary lifestyles have aided the rise in obesity. Obesity is a risk factor for conditions including type II diabetes and diabetes rates have risen dramatically in the region, with almost half of the population diabetic in the Marshall Islands.
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Increasingly sedentary lifestyles have aided the rise in obesity. Obesity is a risk factor for conditions including type II diabetes and diabetes rates have risen dramatically in the region, with almost half of the population diabetic in the Marshall Islands.
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Physical activity was previously linked with work as people worked on plantations and took to the seas to catch fish. The idea of leisure-time activity is relatively new and is being promoted in new health policies.
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Physical activity was previously linked with work as people worked on plantations and took to the seas to catch fish. The idea of leisure-time activity is relatively new and is being promoted in new health policies.
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The beautiful Cook Islands are now the world's fattest country, with more than half the adults classified as obese.
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The beautiful Cook Islands are now the world's fattest country, with more than half the adults classified as obese.
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obesity on pacific islandsprocessed food and obesity in the Pacific islandspacific island fisherman paddle outpacific island obesitylack of exercise in the Pacific islandsRarotonga cook islands

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(CNN)They're remote and beautiful. A place many long to escape to for sun, sea and serenity. But the Pacific islands have another reality for the residents living there -- a life based on imported food, little exercise and remote access to healthcare.

The result? The most obese nations in the world.

'A deadly epidemic'

    "One third of the world is either overweight or obese right now," says Emmanuela Gakidou, professor of Global Health at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Gakidou's recent paper used data from countries across the world to identify the global burden of obesity and trends seen in different populations. "The Pacific islands have a lot of countries with very high levels of obesity," she adds.
    Among the top 10 most obese countries or territories globally, nine are Pacific islands, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), making this paradise the fattest re