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Body Composition and Cardiorespiratory Fitness among Refugee Somali Women Living in New Zealand

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness levels of a sample of refugee Somali women living in New Zealand with normative data. Refugee Somali women were invited to participate in sessions to assess physical fitness and body measurements. Height, bodyweight and waist and hip circumference were measured. The Rockport Fitness Walk Test was used to estimate the women’s cardiorespiratory fitness levels. Thirty-one women between 12 and 66 years old participated in this study. There was a significantly greater proportion (71.4%) of participants with a BMI in the overweight or obese range (≥25 kg/m2) compared to normative New Zealand women’s data (49.3%; p = 0.015). The proportion of Somali women (42%) with a waist-to-hip ratio in excess of 0.8 was higher than that of New Zealand women (35.6%), but not statistically so. All women over 30 years of age (n = 12) had an estimated VO2max below the 50th percentile with eight participants below the 10th percentile. The extent of overweight and obesity and low fitness levels, particularly among the older Somali women in this study, suggests that Somali women are at increased risk of developing lifestyle related diseases.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Barbara Redfern, from RMS Refugee Resettlement for her support of this research, Dharma Arunachalam for statistical assistance and valuable feedback, Bernard Guerin for reviewing drafts of this article and making valuable suggestions, and the anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier versions of this paper. This research was supported with funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (UOWX0203); the Waikato Institute of Technology, Faculty of Applied Technology and Centre for Sport and Exercise Science Research funds; and RMS Refugee Resettlement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, Magill Campus, St. Bernard’s Road, Magill, Adelaide, South Australia

    Pauline B. Guerin

  2. Somali Friendship Society, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Fatuma Hussein Elmi

  3. Sport Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Callie Corrigan

Authors
  1. Pauline B. Guerin
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  2. Fatuma Hussein Elmi
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  3. Callie Corrigan
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Correspondence to Pauline B. Guerin.

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Guerin, P.B., Elmi, F.H. & Corrigan, C. Body Composition and Cardiorespiratory Fitness among Refugee Somali Women Living in New Zealand. J Immigrant & Minority Health 9, 191–196 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-006-9030-x

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