As part of the University of Guelph-Humber’s international study initiative, students are enriching their learning experience through seven global study opportunities.
Here, we head to New Zealand where we learn about what health promotion looks like in the adventure capital of the world.
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“From a fitness and health perspective, Canada holds much in common with New Zealand. But within our similarities are stark differences, giving us great fodder for comparison,” says Dr. Daniel Santa Mina, program head of Kinesiology and New Zealand study abroad course director.
Among these differences are mandates within health promotion and healthcare, sport culture, nutrition and food-related politics, Indigenous health and culture. All subjects for examination by UofGH students, as they hike, mountain bike, and raft their way through the adventure capital of the world.
“We’re examining a number of health promotion initiatives that relate to children and adolescents; we’re looking into strategies they’ve adopted in order to manage their growing obesity problems. As we learn how Polynesian countries interact politically with respect to some of their national resources, we’ll see how they feed each other, and how nutrition, in many respects, has become compromised,” says Dr. Santa Mina.
As students tour New Zealand, they also gain access to Auckland University of Technology’s Millennium Institute of Sport and Health, a facility whose goals include helping New Zealand become a fitter, healthier nation. “We’re visiting laboratories and assessing physiological fitness in new ways.”
“University of Guelph-Humber students – many of whom will be leading the way in fitness and health promotion – are gaining firsthand insight into new and relevant initiatives.”
“Within a three-hour radius, there’s absolutely everything in terms of natural environment to explore. It’s a great way to experience entirely new perceptions and ideas related to health and wellness.”