New Zealand researchers hope to gain insight into Pacific Islander obesity | American Samoa

Pago Pago, American Samoa— A researcher at the University of Otago in New Zealand wanted to gain insight into obesity issues among Pacific Islanders by studying food phobia, or resistance to new foods.

“Pacific Islanders need to change their behaviours, experiences and perceptions about food, particularly the consumption of so-called ‘new foods’,” said Dr Edmond Fehoko from the Department of Human Nutrition, who is receiving a NZ$30,000 grant from the New Zealand Health Research Council.

“In short, food phobia is the fear of trying new foods in your daily diet or meals. Therefore, many of the foods that are considered new foods in the literature are fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and whole grain products.”

Fehoko wanted to understand what the barriers were that were preventing Pacific families from changing their eating habits.

“So, through this study I wanted to explore what’s holding us back, or what the barriers are, but also to see what potential opportunities there are for Pacific Islanders to start exploring and eating these new foods in their daily diets,” Fehoko said.

He said the prevalence of obesity among Pacific Islanders was a “million-dollar question”.

“I think there are a number of factors and issues,” he said, adding, “We can look at currency issues, we can look at social, cultural issues, but we can also look at systemic issues that are happening in terms of importing processed foods into the Pacific,” he said.

“From a Pacific perspective, I can talk about the importation of processed foods. Now you go to the Pacific, nine times out of ten, everything is in our backyard, the plantations, the crops, the ocean.

“Yet many of us don’t drink coconut water, we buy it directly from the bottle. Or, instead of drinking mango juice, they buy it directly from the bottle.”

“So these are issues that are happening, not only in the Pacific, but also in ethnic minority and indigenous communities in New Zealand.”

Fehoco said Pacifica has plantations and fresh food supplies, as well as fresh ocean fish, but people still choose bottled mangoes, coconuts and canned tuna.

He said his research would initially focus on Pacific Island communities in Otago and Southland, but could expand to other regions in the coming years.