A stocktake of physical activity programs in the Pacific Islands

Abstract

Population non-communicable disease (NCD) risk is among the highest in the world in the Pacific region. Increasing physical activity (PA) levels may be effective in reducing NCD risk in the developing and culturally diverse Pacific region. To describe the current practice in promoting PA in the Pacific, program information was sourced from NCD representatives from 19 countries during the Pacific NCD Forum (2009). Additional online searches were undertaken; health officials from 22 countries and NCD key informants from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and from the World Health Organization were contacted. Eighty-four PA initiatives were identified in 20 Pacific Island countries: 26 took place in the workplace setting, 17 occurred in the school setting, 37 in the community setting and 4 in a clinical or health sector setting. Seventeen programs reached 100-500 individuals, 9 programs reached 500-1000 participants, 13 programs reached over 1000 participants and 3 programs targeted the whole population. The majority (51 of 84) of the programs commenced since 2006. There is a notable increase in the development of PA programs in multiple settings across the Pacific. Lead agencies are often the Ministry of Health offices with leadership support from high-level government positions.

A snapshot of physical activity programs targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia

“…This documentation of current program provision and scope in at-risk populations signifies the initial step required to develop the evidence base of best practice. 12 The growing rise of information available through online sources provides an opportunity to locate details on the delivery of additional programs and services. The aim of this study was to identify physical activity and sport programs targeting Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to describe their characteristics including location, participant numbers and evaluation measures.…”

Using Blood Informative Transcripts in Geographical Genomics: Impact of Lifestyle on Gene Expression in Fijians

“…Globalization and urbanization have for example had a major influence on nutrition, eating habits, and lifestyle in the South Pacific (Hughes and Marks, 2009; Siefkenm et al, 2012). There have been significant changes in food production, processing, storage, and distribution, possibly also contributing to the epidemic of metabolic disease.…”

Physical Activity and Obesity Research in the Asia-Pacific

“…37 PICs represent a small proportion of the population of the Asia-Pacific region, but this exemplifies the extent of application of PA promotion programs in this region that were developed for use in populations in other parts of the world. This transfer of programs to populations that are very different from the populations in which they were developed has occurred while research on key variables influencing PA behavior in the Asia-Pacific is very limited.…”