Supports and barriers to physical activity engagement for Native Hawaiian junior college students

Physical inactivity and lower levels of education have been associated with increased risk for obesity and chronic disease. Compared to other ethnic groups in Hawaii, Native Hawaiians have a higher prevalence of chronic disease (including diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease). Only 10% of Native Hawaiians enroll in college, 72.5% are overweight and only 54.4% meet national recommendations for physical activity. As part of a four-site study of supports and barriers to physical activity in minority populations, we conducted four focus groups involving 32 young adult Native Hawaiian junior college students to explore perceived supports and barriers to living a healthy lifestyle. Questions were based on social marketing concepts and proven physical activity strategies. We engaged 10 key informants to help contextualize, verify, and extend our findings. Similarly to young adults in general, young adult Native Hawaiians perceive themselves as invincible and experience demanding lifestyle and laziness as barriers to increasing their levels of physical activity. However, unlike many other groups, these young Native Hawaiians did not define health in terms of individual strength, endurance, and appearance. Rather, they defined it in terms of being purposefully engaged in life's responsibilities, which include working, going to school, and caring for family. In terms of programming, young Native Hawaiians expressed preferences for group-oriented and college-course-based opportunities to learn more about healthy living and to become more physically active. These findings illustrate the importance of talking to targeted end-users before designing interventions.