Developing principles of social change as a result of a Pasifika Youth Empowerment Program: A qualitative study.

Issue: Empowerment is a concept over-used in health promotion, yet it is an important process that can used in developing the capacity and capability of young people for creating social change to improve healthier lives.

Methods: The Youth Empowerment Program (YEP), a pilot study aimed at empowering 15 youth (18-24 years) to lead healthier lives. We present secondary outcomes of the original YEP study, using focus groups and mobile-mentary approaches to capture the impact of the YEP through the youths' understanding of the program.

Understanding Pasifika youth and the obesogenic environment, Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand.

Aim: In New Zealand, the burden of obesity is greatest among Pacific people, especially in children and adolescents. We investigated the factors of the obesogenic environment that were indigenous to Pasifika youths' social-cultural context, their food purchasing behaviours, and associated anthropometric measures.

Methods: An exploratory study of 30 Pasifika youth aged 16-24 years in Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand.