title: Lean people … abundant food: memories of whānau health and food in mid-20th Century everyday life.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article reports the first phase of a project to develop, in participation with a Māori community, a model of health promotion to combat the impact of metabolic syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  A series of hui (meetings and focus groups) were conducted with community elders to learn about the food they gathered, prepared and consumed in the mid-20th Century before diabetes became endemic. A participatory research approach was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three main themes emerged: food related work, self-sufficiency and the 'richness' of food. Most people were lean with diets rich in vegetables, fruit and sea food, while low in red meat and processed foods. The resources of the whole community were devoted to the growing, gathering, preparation and preservation of food.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This first phase provides only a partial record; continued gathering of the stories to widen and deepen understanding of the changes to Māori communities and their health is recommended. Next is to collaboratively develop and test a Māori model of health promotion, using local knowledge to develop interventions relevant to the community. It is contended that the future of health promotion lies in the interface between medical science and the knowledge held by communities.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University and Department of Health Sciences, Buskerud University College, Norway. Thomas.Harding@acu.edu.au
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harding
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: North
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.forename: Errol
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003256:Community Participation; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control; D009520:New Zealand; D016730:Program Development; D012424:Rural Population; D013851:Thinness