To kick off the New Year, the community of Māngere is getting back into their health and fitness regime.
According to Ministry of Health research, over 40% of Māori and almost 60% of Pacific Islanders are obese. This is the reality of the health issues impacting communities throughout NZ.
A fitness initiative was set up to bring the people of South Auckland community together, attracting people of all races and sizes.
The health and fitness initiative was set up to try and combat obesity in their community and to encourage and motivate people to get healthy and fit.
The health and fitness programmes have been going for seven years. They run them four times a week at no cost. They were set up following the huge numbers of people suffering from obesity.
Being obese puts your health at serious risk. It can cause diabetes, high blood pressure, cancers, and heart disease.
Therefore the focus of the group for the New Year is to urge more people to take action for their own health and fitness.