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New academic research across rural New Zealand has found
Māori and low income people are likely to be more obese
because they do not have access to exercise facilities such
as gyms, ExerciseNZ chief executive Richard Beddie
says.
The Griffith University study is the first of
its kind in New Zealand. The research looked at the
association between the number of physical activity outlets,
physical activity intensity opportunities, and obesity
prevalence in Aotearoa.
The researchers explored
access to exercise facilities such as gym and obesity rates,
Beddie says.
“Key findings was that while overall
there wasn’t any clear link, there was for Māori and low
income people. Both had negative correlation so that people
without access to gyms were in the higher obesity
spectrum.
“While it was early research, it was
comprehensive across rural New Zealand, indicating that
having access to exercise facilities is essential to being
part of the inactivity crisis our country is facing today.
This leads to negative health outcomes such as obesity
.
“This also shows the need to be targeted in any
response to support lack of physical activity. Some groups
need much more support but they have worse outcomes due to
lack of access to facilities such as gyms.
“We are
keen to work with government to ensure more Kiwis have
access to exercise facilities, especially those with adverse
health outcomes such as low income and Māori in our rural
communities.
“With creativity around delivery
options that we have learnt through the last few years, this
is achievable but will require co-ordination between
government and the exercise industry. We are more than happy
to work with government on this and help them.”
Six
hundred and fifty million adults are obese worldwide. The
2019-2020 New Zealand health survey reported almost a third
(30.9 percent) of Kiwi adults are obese.
Obesity among
the Māori ethnic group is significantly higher (47.9
percent) compared to pākehā New Zealanders (29.3 percent).
The Survey identified that adults living in
socio-economically deprived areas were 1.8 times more likely
to be obese compared to adults living outside of these
areas
The New Zealand Index of Deprivation reported
higher proportions of Māori (23.5 percent) living in
socio-economically deprived areas of New Zealand compared to
non-Māori (6.8 percent).
Obesity prevalence in the
Griffith study was not segregated as per Māori New
Zealanders and pākehā New Zealanders.
The
researchers says this was important as health disparities
and disease burden is considerable higher among Māori New
Zealanders than
pākehā.
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