Based on our findings, we discuss and recommend the revitalization of particular traditional lifestyle practices, which may advance healthy aging among Pohnpeians.Īs the world’s population develops, embracing modernization, technological advancement, increased communication, contact, and international trade, indigenous peoples living traditional lifestyles, once unaffected by such processes, now must confront powerful global change. We suggest the process of transition be recognized as a significant lifestyle and health risk and be given the attention we give to other risk factors that negatively influence our health. These findings have significant implications for promoting health and longevity of Micronesians and other Pacific Island peoples. the more traditional life they lived, the higher they scored on the health scale, suggesting the importance of traditional lifestyle practices for maintaining health. The higher an individual scored on the tradition scale, e.g. As predicted, individuals residing on the remote atolls were living the most traditional lifestyles and also had the healthiest lifestyles, based on our rating system. recently moved from a remote atoll to the main island, or the reverse) ranked lowest on both the tradition and health scales, rather than ranking intermediate between the remote and main island groups as we had hypothesized. Pohnpeians living in transitional communities (e.g. Participants’ locations were categorized as living on a remote atoll, living on the main island, or as a transitional population. To assess this, our interdisciplinary team developed two scales, one to rank individuals on how traditional their lifestyles were and one to rank individuals on the healthiness of their lifestyles. We investigated the relationship between the diminution of traditional lifestyle practices and the decline in the health of the population in the State of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Lifestyle-related, non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity have become critical concerns in the Pacific islands of Micronesia. De Gezelle, Formal analysis, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, 3 Robert Wolkow, Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, 4 Guy Cohen, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Software, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, 5 Francisca Sohl, Conceptualization, Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – review & editing, 6 Bill Raynor, Conceptualization, Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing – review & editing, 7 and Clay Trauernicht, Conceptualization, Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – review & editing 8 Lee, Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, 2 Jillian M. Balick, Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, 1, * Roberta A.
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