Ac. Bell et al., A nutrition and exercise intervention program for controlling weight in Samoan communities in New Zealand, INT J OBES, 25(6), 2001, pp. 920-927
OBJECTIVE: To promote weight loss in Samoan church communities through an e
xercise program and nutrition education.
METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used to assess weight change, over
1 y, in cohorts of people aged 20 - 77 y from three non-randomised Samoan
church communities (two intervention, n = 365 and one control, n = 106) in
Auckland, New Zealand. The intervention churches received aerobics sessions
and nutrition education about dietary fat.
RESULTS: Baseline body mass index for the intervention and control churches
was (mean +/- s.e.) 34.8 +/- 0.4 and 34.3 +/- 0.9 kg/m(2), respectively. T
he intervention churches lost an average of 0.4 +/- 0.3 kg compared to a 1.
3 +/- 0.6 kg weight gain in the control church (P = 0.039, adjusted for con
founders). The number of people who were vigorously active increased by 10%
in the intervention churches compared to a 5% decline in the control churc
h (P = 0.007). Nutrition education had little apparent impact on knowledge
or behaviour.
CONCLUSION: Samoan communities in New Zealand are very obese and have high
rates of annual weight gain. A community-based intervention program arreste
d this weight gain in the short term.