Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 3, 1 Malaki 2014 — Committing to lifestyle changes for better health [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Committing to lifestyle changes for better health

By Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes, Dr. PH„ R.D. About a fourth (23.6 percent) of Hawai'i's adult population is obese (that's a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 and greater). With that statistic, Hawai'i was credited with being one of the top five states in the U.S. with the lowest rates of obesity, in 2013. The news release warned us that adult rates of obesity and being overweight are rising, rapidly, across the U.S., including Hawai'i. It predicted that by 2030, more than half of Hawai'i's adults will be obese.

That's a doubling of Hawai'i's current rate in only 16 years! So, why get excited? There are real concerns. Increasing rates of being overweight and severely

overweight will bring increases in hypertension, heart illnesses, certain cancers and diabetes mellitus. And, for those who are affected, medical treatment will be needed. Thus, medical care will increase personal hnaneial burdens, as well as burdens for employers and health-care systems that are involved. And, in addition to increases in these chronic conditions, overweight adults ean develop painful structural problems, i.e., bad knees, ankles and hips, as well as foot problems ... all needing treatment. Another complication of being severely overweight is, quite likely, a shorter life span. Being

overweight is a real problem. Among many Native Hawaiians, the health complications listed above are already a reality, as more than 75 percent of Hawai'i's Native Hawaiians are overweight and severely overweight. That statistic is alarming! We know that 40 to 50 years ago, rates of being overweight and severely overweight in Hawai'i were far lower than today. So, what happened? What changed? We all know the remedy for being overweight, right? It's . . . less food along with daily exercise. So the reasons for Hawai'i's increasing weight must be increasing access to food and increasing idleness.

For those who ean remember: Television sets were in most homes by 1960, and evenings of sitting and snacking in front of the boob tube began. The arrival of

nahonal fast food chains to Hawai'i: Dairy Queen andMcDonald's occurred about that time. Pizza, fried ehieken and other hamburger chains followed. Machines that dispensed sweetened beverages appeared in more places. Then, machines dispensing many snacks, candies, chips, soup and cotfee appeared every where. Food stores at gas stations appeared. And, ethnic diets in the home began to change and vegetable consumption dropped. During this same period, labor-saving equipment appeared in more homes, vacuum cleaners, eleetric washers and dryers, motorized lawn mowers and hedge clippers, etc. More families owned more than

one car. Finally, eell phones, eomputer games and home theaters are in more hands. All of these changes and devices have increased access to sweet, fatty, snacks and sweetened drinks or reducing calorie-buming physical activity. Thus, we cannot rest on Hawai'i's recentlaurel. Healthy Native Hawaiians are needed to keep Hawai'i Hawaiian. We all need to eommk to making changes to keep our families healthy and productive . . . consistent with our traditional eultural norms. To break that 75 percent statistic, we need to help children and younger brothers and sisters adopt healthier lifestyles. And, we must help our aunties, uncles and kūpuna to become involved with a family commitment to heahh. Our ancestors set the example of strong communities that lived up to cultural norms. Today, that philosophical reality needs to be recalled and put into action. We want Native Hawaiians to continue to exist, living healthy and productive lives in Hawai'i. ■

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A 2013 report released by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation predicts that if trends continue without effective interventions, more than half of Hawai'i's adults will be obese by 2030.