Pacific Island People

PACIFIC ISALND HEALTH ISSUES




Pacific Island people have been immigrating to New Zealand since the 1950’s and have been suffering from health issues ever such as Coronary heart diseases and strokes, elevated blood pressure and cancer. Most of these illnesses are caused by the change in food and environment and in other cases are hereditary and are passed down from elder family members who got the diseases when they immigrated because of the change in food and environment.

Coronary heart disease and strokes (CHD) are caused by a number of different things like cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, lack of exercise dieting and family history of coronary heart disease. Tobacco smoking shortens life and increases the risk of getting coronary heart disease. Stopping smoking is the single most effective way of reducing getting the disease, but in New Zealand over a 15 year period 34% of people were regular cigarette smokers. Prevalence of smoking among the Pacific Population nee...