Lowering the incidence of diabetes among Maori is about education, not scaremongering, Rotorua Maori health providers say.
International diabetes expert Martin Silink told experts in Melbourne this week that indigenous people could be wiped out by the disease by the end of the century.
He says Maori and Pacific Islanders have a greater generic risk of contracting type 2 diabetes, which is often not diagnosed.
With 450 of its 6000 patients diagnosed with diabetes, Rotorua's Korowai Aroha provides a number of education and health programmes for its clients, including exercise and nutrition programmes.
Diabetes nurse and educator Shona Tolley said diabetes was a socio-economic issue, not specifically a Maori one, and education was the key to tackling it.
"There are a lot of inroads being made today through education. I don't believe Maori are going to be wiped out. It's not a fair statement because there is a lot being done in our community."
New Zealand's "takeaway society" was to blame, she said.
"It's about our lifestyles. It's convenient to have a night out and eat takeaways.
"One patient said it was cheaper to live on takeaways than going to the supermarket and buying vegetables. It can be a huge cost on the budget for people in the low income bracket."
However, attitudes were slowly changing, Mrs Tolley said.
"We have a huge fix-up ahead of us in terms of diet and lifestyle changes. It's massive but these days people, including Maori people, are trying hard to improve their lifestyle. Twelve or 20 years ago you'd never see as many people at the pools in the mornings as you do now," she said.
Health Rotorua Maori health manager Eugene Berryman-Kamp said he was not surprised by Mr Silink's statement as diabetes was a major issue for all indigenous races.
However, such statements were uncalled for when so much was being done in New Zealand to tackle the rising health problem, he said.
Last year, an estimated 125,000 New Zealanders were diagnosed with diabetes, 22 per cent of them Maori.
Major contributing factors to diabetes included smoking, nutrition and inactivity and indigenous people were most at risk from the disease because of introduced Western influences, Mr Berryman-Kamp said.
"A change in diet in the last 150 years is a contributing factor."
Fight the Obesity Epidemic spokeswoman Robyn Toomath said Maori and Pacific Islanders were genetically more susceptible to obesity and developing diabetes but the waistlines of all New Zealanders were expanding.
Health Ministry chief clinical adviser Sandy Dawson said the Government paid close attention to addressing disparity in ethnic rates of diabetes.
"Diagnosing diabetes early is a specific priority for the Ministry of Health, district health boards and primary health organisations," he said.
Diabetes about lifestyle - not race: Rotorua nurse
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