Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 8, 1 August 2003 — Making small lifestyle changes yields great results [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Making small lifestyle changes yields great results

'Ai po ele'ele — eating without knowledge — is irresponsible behavior we ean, through small steps, overcome to regain the health and stature of our ancestors

By Claire Hughes, Dr.P.H., R.D. Americans are killing themselves with food. Waistlines and hips keep expanding. The number of overweight Americans has doubled in the last 20 years. Experts agree that fast foods, supersized drinks, loeal grinds, fatty snack foods, candy, nuts, desserts, and pastry, are major culprits in this unhealthy trend. Overweight is killing Hawaiians, too. Hawaiians have the highest percentage of overweight compared with all ethnic groups in Hawai'i. Current data show that more than seventy percent of Hawaiians are overweight. This is an increase from nearly 67 percent in 1994 — not even 10 years ago. Health experts confirm that severe overweight is directly related to heart trouble, diabetes, hypertension, cancer and other chronic diseases, and early death. The media have enticed Americans to eat all kinds of stuff, at all hours of the day and night. You ean see people eating while walking down the street, driving a car, working on the job, during breaks at work, and while watching sports events, movies and television. To top it off, Americans also eat at least two full meals a day. Most Americans are concerned primarily with the price, quantity, and availability of food. They are less thoughtful about the nutrient eontent and pay even less attention to the consequences of overweight. Severe overweight causes nearly 300,000 deaths in the U.S. eaeh year and results in greater loss in quality of life annually than smoking, problem drinking or poverty. Our children and grandchildren face the threat of suffering from problems caused by overweight during their entire lives. Health professionals have failed in efforts to get Americans to change unhealthy eating habits. Constant, repeated health messages have not helped to improve eating choices. Nutrition labeling, the food pyramid, and sensible advice at health clinics and doctors' offices go unheeded. Instead, the American solution to this serious dilemma is to file a lawsuit against food producers to recover medical costs for treating an unhealthy population. The way to beat overweight is to eat fewer calories and increase use of stored calories (fatty tissue) by exercising every day. It is absolutely critical to get motivated to actually do that. The 'ōlelo, "'ai pō ele'ele," means eating in the dark. The saying is not complimentary. Eating in the dark or eating without knowledge or thought of consequences,

speaks of irresponsible behavior. Hawaiians have a long history of collaborative efforts, working as a community to solve very difficult problems. Do we want to regain the health and stature that the Hawaiian ancestors demonstrated? Do we want to give Hawaiian children healthy futures? What steps do Hawaiians want to take? That needs to be decided very soon. Contrary to popular advertising, there are no magic foods. A lifelong commitment to reduce total fat intake and limit harmful saturated fats, while including lots of vegetables, fruits and whole grains, is essential to healthy living. Adding daily physical activity is equally crucial. Food scientists found that eating oily fish in moderate amounts, such as sardines, salmon and mackerel, cuts the risk of prostate cancer in half. Chinese men have the lowest rates of prostate cancer — the result of a diet rich in garlic, shallots and onions. Chinese eat cloves of piekled garlic with meals. A diet that is rich in tomato sauce and other tomato-based products, will also lower the risk of prostate cancer. Broccoli and broccoli sprouts kill the bacteria that cause most stomaeh cancers, and broccoli ean also reduce prostate cancer. Drinking tea, particularly green tea, may strengthen bones and reduce the likelihood of death after a heart attack. Making small changes ean yield great results. Cutting out just one tablespoon of fat daily ean bring a ten pound weight loss in a year. Imagine the results you could achieve by leaving out mayonnaise altogether! ■

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At Kailua District Park, Audrey Kahanu races across the pool in the water aerobics program held twice a week.