Indigenous Knowledge Informs New Debate on Eating & Exercise

PRESS RELEASE

Indigenous Knowledge Informs New Debate on Eating and Exercise

Monday 8th October 2012 – For Immediate Release

A group of health practitioners, community and whānau gather in Muriwhenua tomorrow to consider alternative approaches to population eating and exercise in New Zealand. Over two days the group will be informed by Tohunga, Indigenous Research, Community Best Practice and Māori Entrepreneurial expertise to identify where indigenous knowledge might find new applications in whānau ora initiatives.

Dr George Laking (Te Whakatōhea), Chairperson of Te Hotu Manawa Māori and Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa (Te Ora, the Māori Medical Practitioners’ Association) believes the issues surrounding nutrition and exercise are complex –solutions that embrace this complexity rather than more simple fixes are needed.

"Embracing complexity takes a long term view, consider for example a Māori food industry that manages the growth, production, sale and distribution of Kai Māori to iwi beneficiaries in Aotearoa, creates employment, develops traditional knowledge, practice and if we export to the world like our tīpuna once did, wealth creation."

Dr Laking also says viewing fields of nutrition and exercise through a Māori lens enables whānau and communities to be inspired and become part of the solution.

"There is a growing understanding among health professionals that medically based solutions will not, by themselves, provide an answer to the health crisis we are experiencing so the focus needs to be on preventing disease."

Te Hotu Manawa Māori co-host the hui at Taipa Area School with a collective of Māori health practitioners from a range of organisations including Northland District Health Board, Kia Ora Ngāti Wai, Te Hauora O Te Hiku O Te Ika, Whakawhiti Ora Pai and Te Oranga. Students from Taipa Area School spent their last week before holidays preparing posters that reflect what they like about eating and exercise, these posters will be on display at the hui. The hui begins with pōwhiri at 10am tomorrow and ends Thursday 11th October.

ENDS

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