Many Molokai and Lanai residents are losing pounds, reducing health risks and motivating neighbors to follow their example through a healthy lifestyle program.

“;Our community is so small, you practically know everybody, so you see them on the street and you see them exercising,”; said 27-year-old Leina'ala Bishaw of Molokai. “;It's good to see people getting active again ... because of the program. You see them walking on the side of the road, in the gym or in a store making healthful choices.”;

The 12-week program, Ke 'Ano Ola, was created by Na Pu'uwai, the Native Hawaiian Health Care System on Molokai and Lanai, to attack a grim statistic: 72.8 percent of Molokai residents were overweight in 2008.

Epidemiologist Kapuaola Gellert directs the program, highlighted recently by the American Journal of Public Health for its success in incorporating Hawaiian values and community involvement with healthy lifestyle concepts.

Bishaw, a student who has become an aerobics instructor, said she weighed 200 pounds and was 5 1/2 months pregnant when she joined the program last September.

She lost 40 pounds but gained some back before her second son was born May 17. She wants to get down to 130 or 140 pounds, she said, adding, “;Let's be optimistic.”;

Bishaw trained in aerobics and will be one of Gellert's substitutes, taking over a turbo kick class.

Gellert chose to work for Na Pu'uwai on Molokai in 2007 as a “;payback”; for a native Hawaiian health scholarship she received to earn a master's degree at Oregon Health and Science University.

The two-year stint turned into three years for her on Molokai.

“;This community and work I've done here have completely changed my life,”; she said. “;This place touches your heart in a way you could never imagine.”;

Gellert is leaving July 8 for the University of North Carolina to get a doctorate in epidemiology “;so I can give back more than I can right now.”;

The lifestyle program will continue with Bishaw and others subbing for Gellert.

She started the program on Molokai in January 2008 after a community meeting to trigger interest and get ideas for it.

“;About 74 people showed up who were ready to start now, all ages, men and women,”; she said.

The community wanted a weight loss program, and the first group helped to design it with Na Pu'uwai staff and consultants, she said. Their goal: to decrease obesity and the risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases prevalent among Hawaiians.

Classes cover caloric needs; physical activity; risk factors for diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease; emotional triggers around eating; Hawaiian traditional medical practices; meal planning; and other lifestyle behavioral factors.

Gellert said about 110 Molokai residents have completed the program, and many continue in monthly maintenance or exercise classes.

The average weight loss for three months was 7.5 pounds and for some up to 30 pounds, she said.

“;Everyone was happy, and what we wanted to happen at the end happened. We wanted people to move away from looking just at weight and look at other factors—improvements in blood pressure ... increasing good cholesterol and decreasing bad cholesterol.”;

The program expanded to Lanai with the assistance of a full-time nurse and a psychologist at the community health center. A dietitian on Molokai handles meal planning and grocery shopping classes and reviews recipes.

Mike Coelho, 50, a state Department of Land and Natural Resources conservation officer, was among the first to join the Lanai program.

“;Basically, my health had been kind of an issue,”; he said.

When he saw a flier about the class sponsored by Na Pu'uwai and its Lanai unit, Ke Ola Hou o Lanai, he decided to try it in February 2009.

Starting out, he weighed about 350, and overall he has lost about 60 pounds with the program's “;commonsense approach,”; he said. He said he lost about 30 pounds in the first three months, “;and all my blood work came down.”;