Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders experience a high prevalence of overweight/obesity. The Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Intervention (DPP-LI) was translated into a 3-month community-based intervention to benefit these populations. The weight loss and other clinical and behavioral outcomes of the translated DPP-LI and the socio-demographic, behavioral, and biological factors associated with the weight loss were examined. A total of 239 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adults completed the translated DPP-LI through four community-based organizations (CBOs). Changes from pre- to post-intervention assessments in weight, blood pressure, physical functioning, exercise frequency, and fat in diet were measured. Significant improvements on all variables were found, with differences observed across the four CBOs. CBOs with predominately Native Hawaiian and ethnically homogenous intervention groups had greater weight loss. General linear modeling indicated that larger baseline weight and CBO predicted weight loss. The translated DPP-LI can be effective for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, especially when socio-cultural, socio-economic, and CBO-related contextual factors are taken into account.

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The Waianae Diet Program is a community-based intervention strategy designed to be culturally appropriate by using a pre-Western-contact Hawaiian diet to reduce chronic-disease risk factors in Native Hawaiians. This paper describes a trial of the traditional Hawaiian diet fed ad libitum to Native Hawaiians with multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease to assess its effect on obesity and cardiovascular risk factors. Twenty Native Hawaiians were placed on a pre-Western-contact Hawaiian diet for 21 d. The diet was low in fat (7%), high in complex carbohydrates (78%), and moderate in protein (15%). Participants were encouraged to eat to satiety. Average energy intake decreased from 10.86 MJ (2594 kcal)/d to 6.57 MJ (1569 kcal)/d. Average weight loss was 7.8 kg (P less than 0.0001) and average serum cholesterol decreased 0.81 mmol/L (P less than 0.001) from 5.76 to 4.95 mmol/L. Blood pressure decreased an average of 11.5 mm Hg systolic (P less than 0.001) and 8.9 mm Hg diastolic (P less than 0.001).