A nutrition and exercise intervention program for controlling weight in Samoan communities in New Zealand

OBJECTIVE: To promote weight loss in Samoan church communities through an exercise program and nutrition education. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used to assess weight change, over 1 y, in cohorts of people aged 20 - 77 y from three non-randomised Samoan church communities (two intervention, n = 365 and one control, n = 106) in Auckland, New Zealand. The intervention churches received aerobics sessions and nutrition education about dietary fat. RESULTS: Baseline body mass index for the intervention and control churches was (mean +/- s.e.) 34.8 +/- 0.4 and 34.3 +/- 0.9 kg/m(2), respectively. The intervention churches lost an average of 0.4 +/- 0.3 kg compared to a 1.3 +/- 0.6 kg weight gain in the control church (P = 0.039, adjusted for confounders). The number of people who were vigorously active increased by 10% in the intervention churches compared to a 5% decline in the control church (P = 0.007). Nutrition education had little apparent impact on knowledge or behaviour. CONCLUSION: Samoan communities in New Zealand are very obese and have high rates of annual weight gain. A community-based intervention program arrested this weight gain in the short term.