ONLY one in four people in Fiji meets the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables.
The figure, revealed in a review by Azupogo et al. published in Maternal and Child Nutrition (2025), highlights a persistent gap in nutritional standards across the country.
Put into perspective, it means approximately 675,000 Fijians may not be eating enough fruits and vegetables every day.
The concern is echoed by the WHO, which reports 84 percent of Fijian adults consume fewer than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, a trend that has shown no progress since 2011. With NCDs such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease on the rise, some advocates are calling this nutritional shortfall a “national concern”.
Youth advocate for the Fix My Food campaign, Losalini Batiwale, is calling on authorities to support a food environment that promotes people’s health and not one that “profits from our decline”.
“This is not just a problem for young people, it affects everyone,” she said.
“The future of our generation depends on the choices we make today. This is about more than just food, it is about our culture, our traditions, and our survival.”
Ms Batiwale is calling for stronger government policies to promote access to healthy traditional foods and curb the widespread marketing of ultra-processed products, especially to children.
“The burden should not fall on individuals to resist constant exposure to harmful products.
“It is time to create systems that protect and empower us. Let’s create a future where no one dies young from preventable diseases linked to diet.”
UNICEF has backed the youth-led call, warning that both young and older generations are becoming increasingly vulnerable to diet-related diseases.
Additional research from the Central Division shows ultra-processed foods are making up a significant share of daily energy intake, accounting for 21.5 percent of total energy, 24 percent of sugar, 22.8 percent of sodium and 18.6 percent of fat among adults studied.
