Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 6, 1 Iune 2001 — OLAKINO [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OLAKINO

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Achieve the strength and stamina of your ancestors by exercising, changing diet, lifestyle

Claire K. Hughes Dr.PH, RD Department of Health Physical activity in the lives of our ancestors was significantly greater than it is today. Imagine getting around without cars, buses or bicycles. Walking to work wouId keep us fit and slender. The daily commute to Honolulu from Kailua, Kāne'ohe, Kahalu'u, Nānākuli, Wai'anae and Wahiawā, would make for the strongest legs, hearts and lungs. Now, imagine wanting a kapa for an expected child. Gathering the wauke, stripping, soaking and pounding would probably take most of the nine months. The farmers in eaeh kauhale would be constantly bending, pulling, digging and walking to and through the fields. The same is true for cultivating a lo'i. It is no wonder that the Hawaiian ancestors were strong, sturdy and eapahle of bearing great fatigue. The constant and continual physical demands of living made it so. It is not surprising, then, that the kanaka maoli were battle-ready when the eall eame. In the government of old, there was a chief charged with the duty to keep all men fit and battle-ready, ali'i and maka'āinana alike. The king's kalaimoku or chief counsel guided administrative affairs and all that related to the maka'ainana. In this role, he looked after the inter-

ests of the ali'i and the maka'ainana. One responsibility of this advisor was to keep the people under an ali'i fit, healthy and ready to serve. If he determined that the maka'ainana were becoming stout

and clumsy, he would urge the king to have the men

enter into foot races and other vieorous activities JS

to burn off the aeeumulating body fat. The kalaimoku was well versed in warfare and thus he kept the village ,, men fit and ready to assist their ali'i in time of war.

In his coun.se 1 to the ali'i, the kalaimoku

was very powerful. He ' would even advi.se the ali'i himself to lose weight and would suggest appropriate foods

and exercise. As a most drastic measure, he would have advised the % king to move to an area where there was less food available and fewer < people around him to support a dietarv ehanee.

Food availability and laek of exercise habits have changed tremendously. Hawaiians, from being a people who were in a eonstant state of warrior-readiness, have changed to being fat and physically unfit. We have become far more sedentary and our calorie

sources abound. Heakh data for the last 15 years show Hawaiian obesity has increased from 37 percent to 50.1 percent. This constitutes a huge increase of 13 percent. The rates of heart disease, cancer and diabetes in the Hawaiian population have increased

tremendousl>

alarming is that most of our • s children do not have a ehanee to know fitness.

The situation is not hopeless, however. Small changes ean make a

difference. For example, a friend of mine gave up drinking soda and lost seven pounds in one month. Hawai'i's water is the best tasting water in the nation. Chill it, drink it and learn that it is 'ono. Take the challenge of physical activity. Walking during the eool evening hours is a great exercise. Starting small and building to greater physical challenge is the key. Walk the roads in your neighborhood to build up stamina. Later, hike some mountain trails and finally, run or power walk a little. Join a eanoe club this summer. The ultimate challenge would be to eompete in the 42-mile Ka Iwi crossing from Moloka'i.

Several of thc competitors in the most recent one-man eanoe race from Moloka'i to | Ala Moana Beach were

Native Hawaiians. It is interesting to note that our ancestors did this crossing routinely, though not f for speed. We, too, ean recapture physical and spiritual well-being; we just need to do it. ■

H|||& wa'a (eanoe paddling) is one cf?riany activitles appropriate for all ages that encourages physical fitness. Join a eanoe and get in shape this summer. Paddles up!