Dr Mehwish Nisar from UQ's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences spoke to Indian Link News about how the South Asian community can reduce and manage chronic disease.
Dr Nisar has found the South Asian community exhibit many negative health behaviours which increase their risk of chronic disease. These include favouring a sedentary lifestyle, using high amounts of oil and sodium in food and prioritising other facets of life, particularly education and work, over health
Her findings show such health behaviours are linked to South Asian cultural beliefs, social circumstances, and economic situations.
“There are many things (South Asians) will face in a new country, but the main three things we can link are cost, culture and circumstances, my three C’s model,” Dr Nisar said.
“Cost relates to the price of healthy foods, the cost of facilities; culture is understanding our needs with facilities, doctors understanding cultural background and language; circumstances are about environment, the opportunity to exercise, both their own circumstances and those provided by the system.”