ORCID Profile
0000-0002-6079-3634
Current Organisations
Fiji National University
,
Deakin University
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 19-05-2021
DOI: 10.1017/S136898002100224X
Abstract: 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. 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. We looked at the levels of Na and total sugar in each food category and assessed how many products complied with the Fiji reformulation targets set for Na. We also listed the companies responsible for each product. Suva, Fiji. Fourteen percentage of packaged foods in fourteen major categories met Fiji national labelling regulations. Na was labelled on 95·4 % products, and total sugar labelled on 92·4 %. The convenience foods category had the highest Na levels (1699 mg/100 g), while confectionery had the highest content of total sugar (52·6 g/100 g). Forty percentage of eligible products did not meet the proposed voluntary Na reformulation targets. Our findings indicate significant room for improvement in nutrient labelling, as well as a need for further enforcement of reformulation targets and monitoring of changes in food composition. Through enacting these measures and establishing additional regulations such as mandatory front-of-pack labelling, government and food industry can drive consumers towards healthier food choices and improve the nutritional quality of packaged foods in Fiji.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 09-08-2022
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980022001677
Abstract: To investigate perceptions of iTaukei Fijian women and men around diet and the ability to consume a healthy diet. Six focus groups were conducted with women and men separately. Six to ten women and men participated in each group. Discussions were recorded, transcribed, translated and thematically analysed. Themes were mapped to an intersectionality framework to aid interpretation. Four villages in Viti Levu, Fiji. Twenty-two women and twenty-four men. Seven overarching themes were identified, including generational changes in food behaviour, strong-gendered beliefs around food and food provision, cultural and religious obligations around food, the impact of environmental change on the ability to consume a healthy diet, perceptions of the importance of food, food preferences and knowledge. Participants across focus groups identified that it was the ‘duty’ of women to prepare food for their families. However, some women reflected on this responsibility being unbalanced with many women now in the formal workforce. Changes between generations in food preferences and practices were highlighted, with a perception that previous generations were healthier. Power dynamics and external factors, such as environmental changes, were identified by women and men as crucial influences on their ability to eat a healthy diet. Embedded traditional perceptions of gendered roles related to nutrition were misaligned with other societal and environmental changes. Given factors other than gender, such as broader power dynamics and environmental factors were identified as influencing diet, viewing nutrition-related issues through an intersectional lens is important to inform equitable food policy in Fiji.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-08-2018
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-01-2020
DOI: 10.1007/S13679-020-00370-5
Abstract: Whilst evidence indicates that weight gain occurs over holidays, the contribution of specific festive periods and celebrations to eating behaviour and weight gain is unclear. We aimed to synthesise literature on how festive periods and celebrations contribute to population weight gain and weight-related outcomes. Thirty-nine studies examining (i) body weight changes, (ii) determinants of eating behaviour or (iii) weight-gain prevention interventions during festive periods were systematically reviewed. Of the 23 observational studies examining changes in body weight during festive periods, 70% found significant increases (mean 0.7 kg). Only four studies investigated exposure to food cues and overeating during these periods, with heterogeneous results. All six intervention studies found that weight gain can be mitigated by self-weighing/self-monitoring and intermittent fasting. Interventions targeting festive periods could have a significant impact on population weight gain. The scalability and sustainability of such interventions require further investigation, as do the broader socioecological factors driving unhealthy eating during festive periods.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 28-11-2018
Abstract: Policy interventions can encourage healthier dietary choices and help prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Consequently, governments are seeking to develop and implement food-related policies, but little research on food-related policies is available to guide policy development. This study aims to provide an in-depth examination of barriers and facilitators to food-related policy development in Fiji. Case studies were undertaken on 7 food-related policies that were recommended for action in 2010. Data were collected in 2015 through 20 key informant interviews with purposely selected officers from relevant government ministries, consumer advocacy groups, and academia as well through document reviews. The interview data were analyzed thematically. Findings were categorized into major themes: leadership, nature of the policy and political environment, and collaboration within and across sectors. Barriers included leaders not being supportive of progressing policy, the content of the policy influencing its adoption, and a lack of consultation with relevant stakeholders. Facilitators included certain leaders' commitment to driving the policy combined with the support of government at time of deliberation. Good collaboration between government sectors and other stakeholders also facilitated policy endorsement. Attention to leadership, collaboration, policy content, and political environment is likely to enhance the process of developing and implementing food policies targeting NCD prevention in Fiji.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 17-06-2020
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980020000440
Abstract: To draw lessons from Fiji regarding the challenges and opportunities for policy initiatives to restrict (i) food marketing to children and (ii) marketing of breast milk substitutes, to inform policy for the double burden of malnutrition. Qualitative political economy analysis of two policy case studies. Fiji. Eleven key informants from relevant sectors, representing public health, economic and consumer interests. This study used two policy initiatives as case studies to examine factors influencing decision-making: Marketing Controls (Foods for Infants and Young Children) Regulations 2010 , amended in 2016 to remove guidelines and restrictions on marketing in the form of labelling, and the draft Advertising and Promotion of Unhealthy Foods and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children Regulation developed in 2014 but awaiting review by the Solicitor General’s Office. Factors identified included: a policy paradigm in which regulation of business activity contradicts economic policy goals limited perception by key policy actors of links between nutrition and marketing of breast milk substitutes, foods and beverages and a power imbalance between industry and public health stakeholders in policymaking. Regulation of marketing for health purposes sits within the health sector’s interest but not its legislative remit, while within the economic sector’s remit but not interest. Opportunities to strengthen restrictions on marketing to improve nutrition and health include reframing the policy issue, strategic advocacy and community engagement. Restricting marketing should be recognised by public health actors as a public health and an industry policy issue, to support strategic engagement with economic policy actors.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-10-2020
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 24-09-2020
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980019002660
Abstract: To describe the development of Fiji’s fruit and vegetable fiscal policies between 2010 and 2014 and explore the impact they have had on import volumes. Qualitative case study and in-depth analysis of policy process. Policy impact was assessed using publicly available import volume data and prices of food products. Fiji. Senior government policy makers, non-communicable disease officers from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MoHMS) and supermarket managers. In 2011, the Fijian Government introduced an import excise of 10 % on vegetables and reduced the import fiscal duty on fruit that was also grown in Fiji by 10 %. The import tax on vegetables was removed in 2012 in response to a MoHMS request. Policy makers from several sectors supported the MoHMS request, recognized their leadership and acknowledged the importance of collaboration in achieving the removal of the excise. Tariff reductions appear to have contributed to increases in the volume of vegetables (varieties not grown in Fiji) and fruit (varieties grown in Fiji) imported, but it is not clear if this increased population consumption. Reductions in import duties appear to have contributed to increases in volumes of vegetables and fruit imported into Fiji. This case study has demonstrated that governments can use fiscal policy to meet the needs of a range of sectors including health, agriculture and tourism.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1155/2012/294530
Abstract: The health and wellbeing of children in lower-income countries is the focus of much international effort, yet there has been very little direct measurement of this. Objective. The current objective was to study the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a general population of secondary school children in Fiji, a low middle-income country in the Pacific. Methods . Self-reported HRQoL was measured by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 in 8947 school children (aged 12–18 years) from 18 secondary schools on Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. HRQoL in Fiji was compared to that of school-aged children in 13 high- and upper middle-income countries. Results . The school children in Fiji had lower HRQoL than the children in the 13 comparison countries, with consistently lower physical, emotional, social, and school functioning and wellbeing. HRQoL was particularly low amongst girls and Indigenous Fijians. Conclusions . These findings raise concerns about the general functioning and wellbeing of school children in Fiji. The consistently low HRQoL across all core domains suggests pervasive underlying determinants. Investigation of the potential determinants in Fiji and validation of the current results in Fiji and other lower-income countries are important avenues for future research.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1155/2015/602635
Abstract: Background . Many studies examining smoking uptake among young people in the Pacific have not included their exposure to tobacco control promotions in the media in their assessment. This study examines how Fijian students view tobacco and tobacco-related media depictions to gain insight into both drivers of smoking uptake and potential directions for prevention interventions. Methods . A s le of thirty Fijian students (15 male and 15 female) aged 14–17 years, was recruited from a Suva school between September and October 2013 and participated in a one-to-one in-depth interview about their views on tobacco use, media consumption patterns and preferences and awareness of tobacco use in media. Results . Despite radical developments in access to media, television remains the most popular. Yet, the majority of participants were unaware of any protobacco imagery on television or other entertainment media. Tobacco-related imagery was more likely to be seen in connection with point of sale advertising and branding. The advertising potential of the shop counter was acutely apparent to some participants and this space was considered highly influential. Conclusions . Despite the fact that the recently introduced graphic health warnings were generally well received, more can be done to extend the use of media for tobacco control benefits in Fiji.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-08-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-10-2013
Abstract: The magnitude of the relationship between lifestyle risk factors for obesity and adiposity is not clear. The aim of this study was to clarify this in order to determine the level of importance of lifestyle factors in obesity aetiology. A cross-sectional analysis was carried out on data on youth who were not trying to change weight (n = 5714), aged 12 to 22 years and from 8 ethnic groups living in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Tonga. Demographic and lifestyle data were measured by questionnaires. Fatness was measured by body mass index (BMI), BMI z-score and bioimpedance analysis, which was used to estimate percent body fat and total fat mass (TFM). Associations between lifestyle and body composition variables were examined using linear regression and forest plots. TV watching was positively related to fatness in a dose-dependent manner. Strong, dose-dependent associations were observed between fatness and soft drink consumption (positive relationship), breakfast consumption (inverse relationship) and after-school physical activity (inverse relationship). Breakfast consumption-fatness associations varied in size across ethnic groups. Lifestyle risk factors for obesity were associated with percentage differences in body composition variables that were greatest for TFM and smallest for BMI. Lifestyle factors were most strongly related to TFM, which suggests that studies that use BMI alone to quantify fatness underestimate the full effect of lifestyle on adiposity. This study clarifies the size of lifestyle-fatness relationships observed in previous studies.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-10-2011
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-01-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-08-2013
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2013
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-04-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-11-2013
DOI: 10.1038/IJO.2013.212
Abstract: To investigate the relationship between excess weight (overweight and obesity) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a s le of secondary school children in Fiji, by gender, age and ethnicity. The study comprised 8947 children from forms 3-6 (age 12-18 years) in 18 secondary schools on Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from measured height and weight, and weight status was classified according to the International Obesity Task Force recommendations. HRQoL was measured by the self-report version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0. HRQoL was similar in children with obesity and normal weight. Generally, this was replicated when analyzed separately by gender and ethnicity, but age stratification revealed disparities. In 12-14-year-old children, obesity was associated with better HRQoL, owing to better social and school functioning and well-being, and in 15-18-year olds with poorer HRQoL, owing to worse physical, emotional and social functioning and well-being (Cohen's d 0.2-0.3). Children with a BMI in the overweight range also reported a slightly lower HRQoL than children with a BMI in the normal weight range, but although statistically significant, the size of this difference was trivial (Cohen's d <0.2). The results suggest that, overall there is no meaningful negative association between excess weight and HRQoL in secondary school children in Fiji. This is in contradiction to the negative relationship between excess weight and HRQoL shown in studies from other countries and cultures. The assumption that a large body size is associated with a lower quality of life cannot be held universally. Although a generally low HRQoL among children in Fiji may be masking or overriding the potential effect of excess weight on HRQoL, socio-economic and/or socio-cultural factors, may help to explain these relationships.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-09-2012
DOI: 10.1111/J.2044-8287.2012.02090.X
Abstract: This study investigated cultural values related to body image and eating practices in Western and non-Western societies. In total, 628 Fijian, 463 Indo-Fijian, 598 Tongan, and 534 Australian adolescents completed measures of cultural values and religious influences in relation to the ideal body and eating practices. Fijian and Tongan adolescents were more likely to value a large body. Religious influences were most strongly associated with eating practices for Fijians, Indo-Fijians, and Tongans. The findings support the role of religion in transmitting cultural values regarding eating practices in Pacific Island communities. What is already known on this subject? Previous research has demonstrated that sociocultural factors shape body image and eating behaviours. Most of this research has been conducted in Western countries. What does this study add? The current study identifies the role of cultural values and religious influences on body image and eating behaviours in a number of different cultural groups. This is the first study to use the same methodology to explore these relationships across Western and Pacific Island communities.
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 12-2013
Abstract: Nearly one-half of the adult population in Fiji between the ages of 15–64 years is either overweight or obese and rates amongst school children have, on average, doubled during the last decade. There is an urgent need to scale up the promotion of healthy behaviors and environments using a multi-sectoral approach. The Healthy Youth Healthy Community (HYHC) project in Fiji used a settings approach in secondary schools and faith-based organizations to increase the capacity of the whole community, including churches, mosques and temples, to promote healthy eating and regular physical activity, and to prevent unhealthy weight gain in adolescents aged 13–18 years. The team consisted of a study manager, project coordinator and four research assistants (RAs) committed to planning, designing and facilitating the implementation of intervention programs in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as the wider school communities, government and non-governmental organizations and business partners. Process data were collected on all intervention activities and analyzed by dose, frequency and reach for each specific strategy. The Fiji Action Plan included nine objectives for the school settings four were based on nutrition and two on physical activity in schools, plus three general objectives, namely capacity building, social marketing and evaluation. Long-term change in nutritional behavior was difficult to achieve a key contributor to this was the unhealthy food served in the school canteens. Whilst capacity-building proved to be one of the best mechanisms for intervening, it is important to consider the cultural and social factors influencing health behaviors and affecting specific groups.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 12-03-2022
DOI: 10.3390/NU14061212
Abstract: Diet-related fiscal policy is an effective NCD prevention strategy. However, current sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes in Fiji and Tonga have not had the desired effect SSB consumption in Fiji, for ex le, contributes to mortality more than double the global rates and is highest in the WHO Western Pacific Region. We therefore aimed to better understand the perceived underlying political economy drivers that have and continue to affect change in each country. Our study design utilised a comparative case study that triangulated documentary policy and stakeholder analysis with semi-structured stakeholder interviews in both countries and an in-depth corporate political activity analysis in Fiji. We drew on theoretical frameworks relevant to political economy to collect and analyse policy and stakeholder data, and utilised established corporate political activity frameworks to analyse industry activity. Common findings to both Fiji and Tonga suggested that the SSB tax impact could be increased through multisectoral engagement, embracing a whole-of-society approach, strengthened institutional structures and leveraging off competing priorities across sectors towards more common goals. These findings provide opportunities and lessons for Fiji and Tonga as well as other similar settings seeking to strengthen or upscale the impact of diet-related fiscal policy.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-10-2011
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 22-11-2019
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 25-08-2016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-07-2012
Location: Fiji
No related grants have been discovered for Gade Waqa.