The Secretariat of the Pacific Community says the region has more obese children than ever before, which poses huge health and development challenges.
This afternoon's session at the Small Islands Developing States conference focussed on regional social and health issues.
Mary Baines is in Apia.
"The SPC's Director General, Colin Tukuitonga says overweight and obese children are likely to stay obese into adulthood, and develop non-communicable diseases like diabetes at a young age. He says NCDs account for 75 percent of all deaths in the Pacific, which is among the highest in the world. The SPC has launched the Pacific NCD Partnership, which pushes for a region-wide, collaborative approach to dealing with non-communicable diseases. 71 partnerships relating to social issues have been struck between NGOs, governments and the private sector so far this week, including a United Nations Task Force on Non-Communicable Diseases for the Pacific."
