Hauora Whakarau Pūngao (Metabolic Health)
He aha te mate whakarau pūngao? (What is a metabolic disease?)
He māuiui ngā mate whakarau pūngao e whakararu nei i te whakarau pūngao, koia tēnei te tukanga o te whakawhiti kai ki te ngao. Ko tētahi tauira, ina nunui kē atu te huka kei te toto nā te mate huka. Ko ētahi anō tauira, koia ko te toto pōrutu, mate tākihi tauroa me te porohau.
Metabolic diseases are disorders that disrupt our metabolism, which is the process of converting our food into energy. One example is when we have too much sugar in the blood from diabetes. Some other examples include high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease and gout.
He aha e whaitake ai? (Why does it matter?)
E piki haere ana te pāpātanga o te mate huka momo 2 me te taha anō o te mate mōmona, ā, he wero hauora nunui tēnei ki Aotearoa. E mōhiotia ana he mea whakatere ētahi atu tukanga mate e te mate huka ka mutu, kāore tonu e mārama ana te hononga o ēnei panonitanga ki ō tātou whakarau pūngao ki te mate mōmona, mate huka me te mate manawa.
The rate of type 2 diabetes is increasing hand-in-hand with obesity and poses a major health problem in Aotearoa. Diabetes is known to accelerate many other disease processes, however it is still unclear exactly how some of these changes in our metabolism are associated with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Ki te whakataurite ki ētahi atu mātāwaka, ko te Māori me ngā Pasifika e pāngia ana e te mate huka 2 i Aotearoa, e tūtohua ana ngā rongoā ngoikore noa iho nei, kua kore rānei e tūtohua rongoā. Ko tā mātou rangahau e aro ana ki te whakapai ake i ēnei manarite-kore o te hauora mā te tūhura ko ēhea o ngā whiringa rongoā te mea pai ake mō ngā tangata rerekē.
Compared to other ethnic groups, Māori and Pacific Peoples living with Type 2 diabetes in Aotearoa are either prescribed less effective medication or no medication at all. Our research aims to improve these inequities by finding out what the best treatment options are for different people.
E aha ana te Pūtahi o Maurice Wilkins ki te kaupare i ngā mate hōrapa? (What does the Maurice Wilkins Centre do to combat metabolic diseases?)
E mōhio ana ngā kairangahau o te Pūtahi o Maurice Wilkins ko ētahi taupori motuhake pēnei me te Māori, Pasifika hoki e kawe nei i te taimaha o ēnei take hauora, ā, me whai wāhi ka tika ēnei iwi hei whakaarotau iho ki tēnei haerenga. Mā te whakanoho i te Māori me te iwi Pasifika ki te pū tonu i ēnei tukanga rangahau ka whakamaheretia e mātou kia whakakanorau i te ara whai māramaratanga ki a mātou o ēnei raruraru mā te whai urupare auaha hei whakapāpā atu ki ngā taumata katoa o te hapori. Mā te whakamahi i ngā kaha e ora kē ana, ko te kaupapa rangahau o te Pūtahi o Maurice Wilkins ki te mate huka me ētahi ake āhuatanga whakarau pūngao e whai ana kia tūhura i ētahi ara hou e hua ai ētahi rongoā hou mō te mate huka, me ōna mate āpiti me ētahi atu ake māuiui whakarau pūngao pēnei me te porohau i te wā tonu e pupuri ana i te tautika hauora o te tangata.
Maurice Wilkins Centre researchers realise that certain populations such as Māori and Pacific carry the burden of these health issues and that these groups need active involvement and prioritisation in this journey. By centralising Māori and Pacific people in the research process we plan to diversify the way in which we understand these problems by using innovative solutions to engage with all layers of the community. Utilising the strengths already in place, the Maurice Wilkins Centre research programme in diabetes and other metabolic conditions aims to identify pathways to new, equitable treatments for diabetes, its associated complications and other metabolic diseases such as gout.