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    What goes on TOA : lessons from Tāne Ora o Aotearoa (TOA) in high-performance : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, School of Māori Knowledge, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. EMBARGOED to 2 October 2026.
    (Massey University, 2023-12-01) Rowe, Luke
    Disproportionately high burden of disease, social exclusion and deprivation among Māori men are well documented across most health and social indices, and they are reflected within a broad range of policy, strategy, and service delivery initiatives. The reasons underpinning these inequities are certainly complex though clear, as they are connected to a suite of social, cultural, environmental, historical, and structural factors that each coalesce to undermine the overall health status of Māori men. Despite this, there is a growing population of tāne (Māori men) who continue to buck these trends. They are referred to in this thesis as, “tāne ora.” The focus on tāne ora, rather than on Māori men’s health, is deliberate and emphasises the fact that while these two concepts share similar goals and objectives, they are founded on different principles and philosophies. Like the renowned Gould et al (2002) study which interviewed 10 Olympic gold medallists revealing a number of common characteristics between them, this research is about What Drives Tāne Ora focusing on a specific subset of tāne who operate within high-performance environments. Grounded in Kaupapa Māori and Mana Tāne theories, a phenomenological and qualitative research design provided the framework for exploring the journeys of eight tāne within professional rugby aged between 20 and 36 years old. This thesis presents findings of the relationship between high-performance (one phenomena) and tāne ora (another phenomena). By taking this approach, these tāne offer insights into their childhood through to their present-day high-performance endeavours as current All Blacks and/or Māori All Blacks. Three seminal findings were established from this research. Firstly, research into the health and wellbeing of tāne requires broader emphases and attention. Not to simply perpetuate health disparities and deprivation, but to cast a light on where opportunities for gains exist and how more bespoke solutions can be developed. Secondly, health and wellbeing of tāne should be informed by research methodologies which are equally as nuanced and framed. The need for a Mana Tāne Research methodology is overdue if not desirable. Lastly, what drives tāne ora involves a complex interplay of conditions referred to in an acronym format as, MANA TANE. Notably, that any pursuits related to tāne ora needed to be mātauranga-informed, and activated by mana in the first instance. MANA TANE highlights that while all conditions are important, there are some (i.e., MANA) that are essential and others (TANE) that are complimentary. These illustrate the convergence of the conditions as an alternative pathway towards achieving tāne ora. One in which the rules of the sporting and Māori worlds are different with one being more transient and the other, enduring. And that those who are most successful are likely to be those that can have a positive relationship with both modes seamlessly.
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    The significance of CYP1A2 genotype on caffeine metabolism and exercise performance : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Human Nutrition at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) McGrath, Michelle Clare
    Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether a single nucleotide polymorphism (C to A transversion at position -163 downstream of the first transcribed nucleotide) in the enzyme that metabolizes caffeine (CYP1A2), would explain the variability seen in caffeine related responses in endurance exercise performance. In a double blind crossover trial, well trained male endurance athletes (n=11, mean VO2 max 69±4 mL.kg-1.min-1) ingested either caffeine (5 mg.kg-1) or a placebo 60 minutes prior to performing a lab based experimental protocol involving a two hour steady state cycle (70% VO2 max) followed by a 30 minute time trial to measure performance. The rate of caffeine metabolism over seven hours (inclusive of exercise period) was also determined by the HPLC analysis of plasma caffeine and its major metabolites, paraxanthine, theophylline and theobromine. Caffeine metabolism at rest over a similar seven hour period was also determined in the same manner. Results: Caffeine improved endurance performance by 7.1% (p=0.037) compared to a placebo. Caffeine also significantly elevated heart rate during the time trial (p=0.003); and RPE (p=0.010) and VO2 (p=0.047) during steady state exercise. There was no correlation between caffeine or paraxanthine concentrations at the start of the time trial and subsequent performance and the rate of caffeine metabolism was not significantly different between resting or exercising trials. Furthermore there was no significant interaction between caffeine treatment and CYP1A2 genotype on performance or any other variables measured. However there was a trend for carriers of the C allele showing faster metabolism than those homozygous A/A (p=0.097). Conclusions: Caffeine is ergogenic during endurance exercise, however individual responses were variable. In this study this variability could not be explained by CYP1A2 genotype. However the small sample size in this study especially when subjects were divided into genotype groups, makes drawing conclusions difficult.
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    Effect of caffeine ingestion on aspects of endurance performance and cognition in CYP1A2 hetrozygous A/C male recreational athletes : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the requirements of a Master of Science in Sport and Exercise Science at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Southward, Kyle
    Background: Globally, caffeine is the most widely accessible psychoactive drug and has been shown to improve endurance performance as well as aspects of cognition, mood and perceptual responses during exercise. However, the ergogenic effects of caffeine between individuals are variable, and the cause of this variability is unknown. The CYP1A2 gene is known to mediate caffeine metabolism and has been suggested as a contributor to the variability of the ergogenic effects of caffeine. Purpose: To investigate the effects of CYP1A2 genotype on exercise performance (10 km time trial), sleep, mood, cognition and perceptual responses following caffeine ingestion in adult male recreational athletes. Methods: 16 recreationally trained athletes (age = 26.9 ± 7.93 y; weight = 77.00 ± 9.04 kg) volunteered for this study. Participants completed a familiarisation session at least one week before the first trial and a saliva sample was collected for testing of the participants’ CYP1A2 genotype. Participants completed two trials one week apart in a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design. Participants were asked to abstain from caffeine ingestion and keep a food diary for 24 h prior to the trial. Participants wore an actigraph, and completed a sleep diary and Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire (LSEQ) every day for the two week duration of the trials starting 3 days before the first trial and ending 3 days after the second trial. The main trial consisted of a set of pre- and post-ingestion measures which included leg power by vertical jump height (squat jump – SJ; countermovement jump – CMJ), leg strength by maximal voluntary concentric and eccentric contraction of the knee extensors (isokinetic dynamometer), perceptual (feeling scale – FS; felt arousal scale – FAS), mood (profile of mood states – POMS), cognition (digit vigilance – DV; Corsi blocks – CB; rapid visual information processing – RVIP) and heart rate. Pre- and post-ingestion urine, saliva and blood samples were also collected for analysis of caffeine metabolism and genotype. Following completion of pre-ingestion measures, participants consumed a capsule containing either anhydrous caffeine (6 mg∙kg-1) or placebo (maltodextrin) and were instructed to rest quietly for 50 min. Following post-ingestion measures, participants completed a 10-km time trial run. Perceptual measures (FS and FAS) including ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded every 2.5 km and heart rate was recorded every 1 km. A venous blood sample and saliva sample was collected at 5 km and 10 km. At completion of the 10-km time trial all post-ingestion measures were repeated, followed by another 50 min rest period. After the second 50 min rest period the participants completed the perceptual, mood and cognitive measures and further blood, urine and saliva samples were collected. Participants returned 24 and 48 h post-ingestion to repeat all post-ingestion measures and another blood, urine and saliva sample was collected. This protocol was then repeated 1 week later for the alternate treatment (placebo or caffeine). The effect of treatment (caffeine, placebo) and the interaction effect of treatment x time were assessed using a repeated measures ANOVA. A student’s t-test was used to measure differences between Leeds sleep evaluation questionnaire (LSEQ) and actigraph data. Results: Fourteen of sixteen participants were heterozygous A/C CYP1A2 for the CYP1A2 genotype and therefore results based on genotypes could not be compared as originally intended. Plasma caffeine, paraxanthine and theophylline concentrations were all elevated following caffeine ingestion (P < 0.05) peaking at 10-km, 1 hour after the 10-km run and 24 hours post caffeine ingestion respectively. Caffeine did not significantly improve 10-km run times. Eccentric leg strength but not concentric leg strength was improved following caffeine ingestion (P < 0.05). Squat jump height but not countermovement jump height was improved following caffeine ingestion (P < 0.05). Digit vigilance reaction times were decreased significantly following caffeine ingestion (P < 0.05) and a trend of decreased rapid visual information processing (RVIP) reaction times were seen (P < 0.1), however, no improvements in the accuracy during cognitive tests were seen following caffeine ingestion. A trend of increased heart rate (P < 0.1) during exercise was observed following caffeine ingestion, but no significant differences in heart rate before and after exercise were observed. Conclusions: While no overall, significant improvements in run time occurred following caffeine ingestion, 11 of 14 participants had a faster run time following caffeine ingestion compared to placebo. Caffeine, rather than the metabolites of caffeine, is likely the main cause of any observed ergogenic effects following caffeine ingestion as the improvements in reaction times, mood and endurance performance occurred when plasma caffeine concentration was elevated but plasma caffeine metabolite concentrations were low. It was found that caffeine ingestion improves endurance performance and reaction times during cognitive tasks. Taken together, the pharmacokinetics of the caffeine and caffeine metabolite peaks suggest that for athletes with the A/C CYP1A2 genotype ingestion of caffeine 1.5 – 2 h prior to an event may be more beneficial for endurance performance compared to the usual recommendations of taking caffeine 1 h prior to exercise. Keywords: caffeine, endurance exercise, CYP1A2, performance, genetics