The Relationship Between Ethnicities And Obesity - 1506 Words

Many studies have conducted significant research on the relationship between ethnicities and obesity. However, only a few studies have done research on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) population and the increasing rates of obesity amongst these indigenous communities. Numerous studies have grouped the NHPI population with the â€Å"Asian† population in most demographic and health surveys, which fabricates the health status from these studies to portray NHPI’s as a healthy population. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Minority Health (2011), NHPI’s were almost four times more likely to be obese than the Asian American population (Office of Minority Health, 2011). This paper will examine†¦show more content†¦Through the physical tasks of hunting and gathering of food to the rhythms of traditional dances in which involve discipline and skills to move in unison with the beats of the drums. Active lifestyles were essential to maintaining optimal health on the islands, colonization of these prideful cultures is still affecting the lives of NHPI’s today. Judith Fitzpatrick-Nietschman (1983) reports the physical activity level of NHPI before influences of western civilization, were high in all cultures in the pacific and accounted for healthy lifestyles of its people (Fitzpatrick-Nietschman, 1983). Lack of exercise across all ethnicities contribute to prevalence of obesity to increase, but is furthermore disabling among cultures who mainly exhibit physical activity through the gathering of food through traditional practices. The current status of obesity in the Pacific islands are staggering according to the World Health Organization (2010), obesity prevalence ranges from more than 30% in Fiji to 80% among women in American Samoa (World Health Organization, 2010). A literature review by Davis et al. (2004) reports that on the Islands of Hawaii, more than 75% of Pacific Islanders that live on the island are obese as compared to 52% of Caucasian, 46% of Japanese, and 45%