62 Nutritional assessment of children in Hartley Bay (Gitga’at), BC

Abstract

Abstract Background Hartley Bay is a small, remote Gitga’at community. As part of “Brighter Smiles”, a multidisciplinary child health partnership between the Gitga’at Nation and BC Children’s Hospital, the community requested a quality assurance project to describe the nutritional status of its children and assess the impact of the existing school based nutrition program. Objectives The community wished to explore ways in which the existing nutrition program could be optimized to further meet the nutritional needs of its children in terms of macronutrient, micronutrient and meal content and to explore food beliefs and values. Design/Methods Gitga’at health leadership guided the design of the study and community approval was sought at an early stage. All Hartley Bay families with children aged 5-18 were invited to participate. With the support of the teachers, a 24-hour dietary recall survey was completed online during school time using the WEB-Q software program. Nutritional information was then analyzed and compared. Anthropometric data (heights, weights, BMI and blood pressures) were collected during routine clinic visits in September 2018, compared with population based norms and analyzed. Results Anthropometric data was collected for 23/30 school aged children. In terms of anthropometrics, 45.5% of girls and 16.7% of boys had a body mass index (BMI) in the healthy range (3rd-85th percentile). Results showed 18.2% girls and 25% of boys had a BMI in the overweight range (85th – 97th percentile), while 36.4% of girls and 58.3% of boys respectively were in the obese or severely obese range. Blood pressures demonstrated that 75% of females and 62.5% of males were normotensive (systolic BC <87%ile). There are many accomplishments of the community highlighted in this study including attitudes towards traditional foods and harvesting, openness to try new foods and spending meal time with family. Four in 18 students were meeting the recommended 5 servings of vegetables/fruits per day. The average intake of sodium for 9-13 year olds was 3g/day (recommended upper limit is 2.2g/day). For 14-18 year olds the average sodium intake was 4.6g/day (recommended upper limit is 2.3g/day). One in 18 students met adequate intake for calcium, 2/18 for fibre and 13/18 for vitamin D. The majority of children in this community are obtaining the recommended percentage energy from fats, carbohydrates and protein. Conclusion A significant proportion of Hartley Bay children had anthropometric measurements suggesting they were at risk for long term negative health outcomes. The study also indicated areas to improve, with suboptimal micronutrient intake. Successes of the community were also highlighted. The data was presented to Hartley Bay health staff, Elders and community members so that it can be used collaboratively by the health staff and community leadership to work on community-designed programs for health promotion.