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Sisters Keep Focused in Whanau Weight Loss Contest

Media Release
From Mana Whenua i Tamaki Makaurau
18 November 2009

Sisters maintain focus as Whanau Weight-loss Challenge draws to a close
Sisters Florence and Geranium Hoeta of Waiuku seem to spend more time at the gym than they do at home these days.


That’s because they are competing in the 12 Week Whanau Weight-loss Challenge –a unique event initiated by Mana Whenua i Tamaki Makaurau, which is a consortium of iwi in South Auckland. Almost 500 Maori are participating in the competition, made up of 40 teams of between ten and 12 members. The competition started in August and will finish at the end of November, with teams competing for cash prizes of $21,000.


“I go to the gym at 6.00am to do an hour’s cardio, then go back after lunch for another hour. I also go to the gym after dinner. I’ve stopped doing weights, because it’s getting near the end of the competition and I want to focus on weight loss not toning,” says Florence Hoeta.
Sister Geranium is the mother of seven children, and has had a history of diabetes.


“I know about the complications of diabetes because I dialised my mother at home for five years. Then my doctor told me I had to lose weight. He explained that when you’re big you’re vulnerable to everything,” says Geranium.
At her biggest Geranium weighed 125kgs and started the 12 Week Whanau Weight Loss Challenge at 78.8kgs. When the competition finishes in a couple of weeks, she hopes to weigh in at 65 kgs. Over the eight weeks of the competition Florence has gone from 159.8kgs to 135kgs.

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“I must admit, it has been a struggle,” Florence says. “It comes to a point where there are certain places I can’t go because of the food, if there’s too much hangi for example.”


Hard as it’s been Florence is keen to keep going and even join the next Challenge which starts next April.


“It’s about life and death. If I’d kept going the way I was I may not be here today. I was on the borderline of so many diseases it wasn’t funny.”
The two sisters are determined to maintain their weight losses after the challenge is finished and say that the battle is won when you have the right attitude.


“You’ve got to stay positive but at the end of the day you have to want to maintain it.” Florence says.


Details for the end of competition celebration are as follows

6.00-9.00pm
Monday 30 November
Telstra Clear Event Centre
770-834 Great South Rd
Manukau City
All media welcome

Questions and answers
What’s different about this weight-loss challenge?
This is a Maori initiative and the first of its kind in the country. Project Manager Tahuna Minhinnick believes that if we are serious about getting Maori to lose weight we have to get the whole whanau involved – and change the behaviour of the whole whanau.


That way individual whanau members are supported to lose weight and can maintain good nutrition and exercise. Whanau teams are self selected and cover the Franklin District, Manukau City and Auckland City. Many participants has pre-existing medical conditions, talked about being addicted to eating, and said that poor diet and eating habits were normalised in whanau settings.


Weekly incentives are offered for teams to upload video clips at http://http://www.orapaho.co.nz


How many people are involved?
Tahuna Minhinnick expected around 60 people to enter the competition but the challenge very quickly swelled to 40 teams of 10-12 members. So that’s almost 500 Maori competing in the challenge.


How does the competition work?
Each team takes responsibility for developing their own weight-loss plan which is a combination of diet and exercise. The team with the biggest collective weight loss wins.


What prizes are at stake?
There is a total of $21,000 in cash prizes up for grabs, spread across the following categories:

* Most weight loss (whanau)
* Most weight loss (individual)
* Kura kaupapa/kohanga reo challenge
* Funniest video clip
* Most innovative whanau activity
* Courageous video clip
* Most innovative whanau meal
* Best edited video

How is the competition going so far?
Teams are losing an impressive amount of weight, and the challenge is impacting on whanau outside the competition too. Attitudes and behaviours around food are changing. Whole communities are being mobilized.

What is the future of the competition?
Mana Whenua i Tamaki Makaurau will run another challenge next year. They believe the challenge is a great example of Whanau Ora in action and provides a good template for Maori in other areas of the country.

ENDS

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