Parents in Samoa have been told to help their own children avoid obesity.
The health education and promotion sector officer at the ministry of health, Lealaiauloto Asoiva, says parents tend to give in easily when their children ask for less nutritious foods.
Lealaiauloto told the Newsline newspaper that diseases like diabetes continue to increase and many young people are affected.
He says children are eating healthy food in shool canteens as part of the ministry of health promotion, but the unhealthy eating habits seem to come from home.
He says ready-made and cheap imported food like chicken, canned herring, and mutton have forced many families to make a choice over fresh local food like fish.
