Kau Mai netball competition attracts 55 Vava‘u teams [1]
Tuesday, June 25, 2013 - 15:53. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
Tonga’s Kau Mai netball campaign has attracted 55 teams who have registered in Vava’u since its launch there last Saturday 22 June, in a programme that tackles obesity in Tonga, where over 90 percent of the adult population are over-weight.
The programme, which aims to help Tongan women keep fit and healthy, is a joint initiative of the Tongan and Australian governments to improve the health of Tongan women.
The Ministry of Health has a goal to “encourage women ages 15-45 years to do 30 minutes of physical activity through netball no less than 3 days a week.”
It is hoped that the physical activity will help combat “non-communicable diseases" (NCD's) such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, hypertension and obesity among Tongan women. Women are often noted to be at higher risk to obesity than men.
The guest of honour was the Police Magistrate for Vava’u, Paula Tatafu, who encouraged women to participate. "Your victory today is your involvement in this sports for health program because when you have physical, mental and spiritual health, you can prevail in all areas of your life," he said.
President of the Vava'u Netball Committee, Sisilia Fine Taufa said, “we're all new to this but happy that we're able to oversee the program. It's a learning experience for us but a welcoming challenge so that we can do it ourselves.”
Non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, is a huge problem in Tonga. According to the World Health Organisation, in 2007 Tonga was among the top five most obese countries in the world, with over 90% of Tonga’s adult population being classified as over-weight. All of the five top obese countries were Pacific Island countries (Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia, Cook Islands, Tonga, and Niue).