Abstract
BackgroundIn the past decades, the diet in Greenland has been in transition resulting in a lower intake of traditional food and a higher intake of imported western food. This diet transition can affect public health negatively, and thus, continued monitoring of dietary habits is important. The present study aimed to follow up on the dietary habits of pregnant women included in the Greenlandic ACCEPT birth cohort (2013–2015) and the children’s father.MethodsThe follow-up food intake was assessed in 2019–2020 using food frequency questionnaires for 101 mothers and 76 fathers aged 24–55 years living in Nuuk, Sisimiut, and Ilulissat. Non-parametric statistical methods were used (Mann-Whitney U test/Spearman correlation) to assess the dietary pattern and influencing factors.ResultsThe proportion of traditional and imported food was 14 and 86%, respectively. Intake frequency differed by gender (vegetables, fruits, fast food), the living town (terrestrial animals, vegetables, fruits), and age (fish, meat products, fruits, fast food). Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors significantly correlated with the intake frequency of several traditional and imported foods. Few changes in the mother’s dietary habits from inclusion (during pregnancy) to follow-up (3–5 years later) were found, showing less frequent intake of seabirds and fruits and more frequent meat intake.ConclusionWe identified several factors that could affect dietary habits, and the results may be used to target future food recommendation for relevant population groups.
Highlights
In the past decades, the diet in Greenland has been in transition resulting in a lower intake of traditional food and a higher intake of imported western food
An inclusion criterion for participating in the Adaptation to Climate Change (ACCEPT) birth cohort was that the pregnant women were Inuit
The results presented here were conducted on the full study population; the conducted sensitivity analyses excluding non-Inuit and persons with less than 50% of their life spent in Greenland showed similar results
Summary
The diet in Greenland has been in transition resulting in a lower intake of traditional food and a higher intake of imported western food This diet transition can affect public health negatively, and continued monitoring of dietary habits is important. The marine mammals, on top of the food chain, contain high levels of contaminants, such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and toxic metals [12] These environmental contaminants have been associated with several negative health effects, including impaired fetal growth [13, 14], adverse effects on the immune-, neuro-, reproductive, and endocrine system, and increased risk of some cancers [12]
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