Native American health advocates use old games as new cures for obesity

#SDG13 Good Health and Well-Being

“Staggering rates of obesity and diabetes among Native Americans have led to shortened life spans. Native adults are twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes as is the general population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Diets worsened when Native Americans were forced to live on reservations and government commodities replaced the nutrient-rich, natural foods they were used to eating. Physical fitness waned as lacrosse was lost to the Indigenous people who invented it.

“It was something that was very deliberately taken from us,” Houston Brown said.

But now, Native Americans are reclaiming the game and playing it as their ancestors did to support good health.”

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Article Source: www.startribune.com

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