Long-Term Food Consumption Survey on Piis-Paneu Island, Chuuk State, the Federated States of Micronesia

Abstract

Piis-Paneu Island, located on the ring reef of Chuuk Atoll, Chuuk State, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), is the most distantly inhabited island in Chuuk Atoll from Weno Island, the capital and commercial center of Chuuk State. A 5-year food consumption survey was conducted on Piis-Paneu Island to reveal annual fluctuations in food consumption and to understand the effects of a typhoon on dietary patterns on a small island. The huge typhoon had a devastating impact on the production of some crops, especially breadfruit, on the island, and the frequency of breadfruit consumption did not return to a normal level even 3 years after the typhoon. It is necessary to manage famine food, such as Alocasia macrorrhizos and Tacca leontopetaloides, or naturalized plants on each island, and to pass traditional knowledge of these plants to the next generation as a precaution for food shortages caused by typhoons or other natural disasters. The dietary patterns on Piis-Paneu Island are traditional compared to those on Pohnpei Island, the center of Pohnpei State and home of the FSM capital city Kolonia; the consumption of local starchy staples and local marine resources is much greater, while the consumption of canned fish, imported meat, and flour products is lower. This 5-year study confirms that the dietary patterns on Piis-Paneu Island remain traditional with the addition of modern food, even though a typhoon hit the island during the survey.