Levi Armstrong (left) with Kia Diamond and Jackson Waerea of Patu Aotearoa.
Patu Aotearoa is a social enterprise that incorporates high-intensity training and healthy lifestyle education with te reo me ona tikanga Maori.
The programme aims to inspire whanau to lead more active, healthy and enriching lives while reducing inactivity rates and waistlines.
Assistant Head of School of Nursing at the Eastern
Institute of Technology, Jennifer Roberts, said at the Public Health Association Conference recently: "We know participants have physical health improvements such as weight reduction, decrease in BMI and waist circumference. However, what struck us most from the data was what participants report about improvements in self-esteem, the whanaungatanga (relationships) at Patu, and the strong sense of cultural identity/reinforcement from being part of the Patu whanau."
To support research and development, Patu established a research partnership with the Eastern Institute of Technology.
"Whanau see Patu as an urban marae and a place they want to be," said Patu Aotearoa director Levi Armstrong .
