Dunedin rugby fan and father of four boys under 6 Kalani Malae is making a lifestyle change for his family.
Mr Malae (38) was one of 24 men aged 25 to 65 who graduated from the 12-week RuFit Rugby Fans in Training programme last week.
University of Otago School of Physical Education sport and exercise sciences research assistant Rebekah Wilson said the course aimed to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours in male rugby fans and was run by the University of Otago in association with the Highlanders.
Mr Malae weighed in at 187kg at the start of the programme and was 189kg two weeks later and 184kg two weeks after that. He is now about 182kg to 184kg.
It was quite inspirational to be in a group of men like himself, he said. "To be honest, I loved it.''
Mr Malae had health issues, was one of only six people in the world who had an illness that attacked his joints and lungs, and had eye problems and kidney disease.
During the programme, participants learnt about the right portion size and how to get the right balance in their diet.
Mr Malae used to eat four slices of bread, eggs and bacon and that had now changed to one slice of bread and one egg.
"I'm more committed to eating well and my family eating well.
"I'm an old dog. I've let things slip over the years.''
He used to play club rugby but since he had stopped playing he had not trained as hard and his eating habits had not changed.
He was a full-time dad and it was hard to exercise by himself.
"I've got four boys under 6 years.''
The course was a blessing. he said.
"Even though we are all a bit overweight, and mix-matched with age, we all came together as a team. It was really inspirational to have the Highlanders involved.''
The University of Otago's education information also helped.
His wife, Rachel Faitala Malae, saw the programme in The Star and thought, "That's got Kalani written all over it.''
Personal trainer Buxton Popoalii said the programme went pretty well.
The cool thing was that the men kept turning up and were slowly starting to see results, he said.
Miss Wilson said the men did follow-up testing and the data was sent to Auckland for analysis.
At this stage, she did not know if the information from the testing would be made available to the public or participants, as it would be dictated by any further testing that might be required.
-By Julie Howard
