Lay summary
This is a Summer Studentship award and the applicant is a third-year Biomedical student from the island of Fiji based at the Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago. The research study aims to examine the interface between nutrition, exercise and weight loss among Pacific Islanders in Dunedin by assessing the change in nutritional habits and weight loss for Pacific female participants using the aerobic exercise programme called Zumba. Zumba is a dance fitness programme and numerous studies have shown the beneficial effects of this aerobic exercise. The Zumba programme has sparked an incredible interest in the Pacific community. The proposed research study is supervised by Dr Fa'afetai Sopoaga, Dean of Pacific Health, and Sophia Leon de la Barra at the Department of Preventative Health, University of Otago.