The Secretariat of the Pacific Community says urgent action is needed to prevent diabetes, heart disease and cancer which account for 70 percent of deaths in the Pacific region.
The SPC's deputy director of Public Health says Pacific countries dominate the world's top ten countries for obesity and diabetes.
Dr Paula Vivili says four strategies to prevent lifestyle diseases are strengthening tobacco control, taxing unhealthy foods, targetting health resources and improving research.
Pacific Directors of Health are meeting this week in Fiji to consider how best to respond to the non-communicable disease crisis in the Pacific.
