Workers gather to battle Maori obesity

Media Release from Te Hotu Manawa Maori

16 October 2007

Workers gather in Ngaruawahia to battle Maori obesity

150 health workers will gather in Ngaruawahia tomorrow to learn from one another about how to battle Maori obesity in their local areas. This annual conference runs for three days and is being co-ordinated by Te Hotu Manawa Maori (THMM).

“Maori have alarmingly high rates of obesity,” THMM’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Manager Leonie Matoe said today. “This is a major contributor to the early morbidity of our people.”

This is the most significant annual gathering of workers in these fields. Highlights from the hui include:

• Health advertising campaigns and their impact on Maori (Amster Reedy and Tane Cassidy)
• Maori Mens’ health (Dr Rhys Jones)
• Wellness as a Taonga (Moana Jackson)

THMM will also be launching a toolkit for Maori health workers, which looks at the context and causes of Maori obesity, and explores some of the solutions for reducing the health problems that flow out of obesity.

“Many of the contributing factors are systemic,” Leonie Matoe said. “For decades research has told us that Maori are more likely to live in areas where it is difficult to access healthy food. They are also more likely to be poor and simply may not have the resources to eat properly.”

THMM believes local solutions need to include a range of strategies.

“Obviously we need to work with whanau and teach them new nutritional behaviours. We also need to continue advocating around issues like poverty, and work out ways of making it easier for Maori to access healthy food.”

Fact Sheet

Food Security and Maori

This work draws on the disciplines of nutrition and physical activity.

The term Food Security is becoming an increasingly popular term. Food Security refers to the ability people have to acquire appropriate and nutritious food on a regular and reliable basis. Food Insecurity is a lack of Food Security (New South Wales Centre for Public Health Nutrition, 2003).

Here are some facts about the Maori situation
• The 1997 National Nutrition Survey revealed that 57% of Maori men and 61% of Maori women were overweight or obese (Russell, Parnell & Wilson et al., 1999). Furthermore, the 2002 National Children’s Nutrition Survey revealed that 35% of Maori boys and 47% of Maori girls were overweight or obese (Parnell, Scragg & Wilson et al., 2003).
• Maori are more likely to suffer from Food Insecurity. They are more likely to live in socially deprived areas where it is difficult to access healthy food. These areas tend to have fewer quality supermarkets, and more fast food outlets (Russell et al., 1999; Parnell et al., 2003).
• Research clearly shows that Maori struggle more than other groups to afford and access healthy kai. They are also more likely to seek assistance from Food Banks and Work and Income (NZ National Nutrition Survey, 1997).

• House-holds which are the least food-secure had the highest Body Mass Index (BMI), those who are moderately food-secure have a lower BMI and those living in the most food-secure households have the lowest BMI (Parnell, Wilson & Mann, et al., 2005).

• Evidence highlights that there is a link between Food Insecurity and obesity as many foods that are high in fat and sugar are the cheaper option.

• Considerable disparity exists in levels of Food Security between Maori and non-Maori.

• Overweight and obesity have been linked to many medical and psychological problems such as type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, gallstones, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, low self esteem, depression and some cancers (Kumanyika, Jeffery & Morabia, et al., 2002). Childhood obesity is a major concern because it increases the risk of adult obesity and can predict mortality and morbidity later in life.

• Internationally and in New Zealand food security interventions and programmes are relatively new, and their effectiveness is still being evaluated.

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