Tonga battles obesity

Amputations and heart disease are at record levels in Tonga's hospitals.In a health system with no facilities to deal with kidney failure or cancer - 80 per cent of surgeries are linked to lifestyle related diseases, notab...

Amputations and heart disease are at record levels in Tonga's hospitals.In a health system with no facilities to deal with kidney failure or cancer - 80 per cent of surgeries are linked to lifestyle related diseases, notably, obesity.Six out of every 10 Tongans are obese. On average, Tongans' eat four times the amount of food recommended by the country's health department.Tonga is now looking to ban or tax poor quality imported foods.Legislation may not teach restraint but keeping fatty foods off the menu is a step towards slimming down Tonga's spiraling health costs.Al Jazeera's Drew Ambrose reports from Nukualofa, Tonga.