Public invited to “Modernization and Health in the Asia-Pacific Region” conference

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
Contact:
Alyson Kakugawa-Leong, (808) 932-7669
Dir, Media Rel, University Relations
Posted: Jul 21, 2016

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is hosting an international conference on “Modernization and Health in the Asia-Pacific Region” August 19-20 at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. The registration deadline is August 12. The conference fee is $135.

Co-sponsored by the Japan Society of Physiological Anthropology and the international Human Biology Association, the conference features scientific presentations that highlight the health effects of modernization in the Pacific and Asian regions. 

Presentations include results of long-standing studies in Vanuatu - where modernization is beginning - and Samoa, Hawaiʻi, and Micronesia - where modernization is long-standing. Studies examine the effects of obesity, extended light exposure, reduced physical activity, and genetics on health, and highlight concerns about the rise in hypertension, diabetes, depression and other diseases associated with modernization throughout the region.

The talks will include results of research on childhood obesity in Japan, elsewhere in Asia, and the Pacific, measurement of physical activity in people doing normal daily activities, the effect of light on circadian rhythms and sleep, and many other topics.

More information about the conference can be found at http://mhapr2016.hawaii-conference.com/ or by calling (808) 932-7261.