Eating habits of a population undergoing a rapid dietary transition: portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods and beverages consumed by Inuit adults in Nunavut, Canada.

Tony Sheehy,Sangita Sharma,Cindy Roache

doi:10.1186/1475-2891-12-70

Tony Sheehy, Sangita Sharma + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-12-70

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Abstract

BackgroundTo determine the portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods being consumed by Inuit adults in three remote communities in Nunavut, Canada.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out between June and October, 2008. Trained field workers collected dietary data using a culturally appropriate, validated quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) developed specifically for the study population.ResultsCaribou, muktuk (whale blubber and skin) and Arctic char (salmon family), were the most commonly consumed traditional foods; mean portion sizes for traditional foods ranged from 10 g for fermented seal fat to 424 g for fried caribou. Fried bannock and white bread were consumed by >85% of participants; mean portion sizes for these foods were 189 g and 70 g, respectively. Sugar-sweetened beverages and energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods were also widely consumed. Mean portion sizes for regular pop and sweetened juices with added sugar were 663 g and 572 g, respectively. Mean portion sizes for potato chips, pilot biscuits, cakes, chocolate and cookies were 59 g, 59 g, 106 g, 59 g, and 46 g, respectively.ConclusionsThe present study provides further evidence of the nutrition transition that is occurring among Inuit in the Canadian Arctic. It also highlights a number of foods and beverages that could be targeted in future nutritional intervention programs aimed at obesity and diet-related chronic disease prevention in these and other Inuit communities.

Highlights

The traditional diet upon which Inuit of Arctic Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka (Russia) survived for millennia was based on a wide range of nutrient-dense foods obtained from the local environment, including wild game, marine mammals, fish, birds, and seasonal roots, stems, tubers, wild berries and edible seaweed [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
The present study provides up-to-date information on portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods and beverages as consumed by Inuit adults in three remote communities in Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic
The present study has highlighted a number of different types of foods and beverages that could be targeted in future nutritional intervention programs aimed at obesity and diet-related chronic disease prevention in these and other Inuit communities

Summary

Introduction

The traditional diet upon which Inuit of Arctic Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka (Russia) survived for millennia was based on a wide range of nutrient-dense foods obtained from the local environment, including wild game, marine mammals, fish, birds, and seasonal roots, stems, tubers, wild berries and edible seaweed [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Within the last fifty years, Inuit have come under increasing pressure to leave behind their traditional way of life and acculturate to the values of Western society [3,7,10]. Age-standardized mortality rates for diseases of the circulatory system (per 100,000 people) in 2000–2004 were 249 in Nunavut compared with 192 for the general Canadian population [27]. Life expectancy in Inuit-inhabited areas trails the Canadian average by more than twelve years [28] Due to these high chronic disease prevalence rates and the remoteness of the communities in the territory, Nunavut’s health care system is under constant pressure due to the high cost of health service delivery [8]. To determine the portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods being consumed by Inuit adults in three remote communities in Nunavut, Canada

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