Emerging obesity among preschool-aged Canadian Inuit children: results from the Nunavut Inuit Child Health Survey

Abstract

Objectives. The study goal was to evaluate the growth status of preschool-age Canadian Inuit children.Study design. As part of a larger study of population health across the Canadian High Arctic, the International Polar Year Inuit Health Survey collected growth and nutrition data on 388 children aged 3 to 5 years.Methods. Data collection included anthropometric measures, health history, food frequency and 24-hour recall. Height and BMI were compared with the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth reference (1); 24-hour recall and FFQ results were tabulated to produce daily and monthly frequencies of consumption of market and country foods.Results. Mean height-for-age z-scores were comparable, but body mass index z-scores were significantly greater than the U.S. standard reference population for all age and sex categories. The overall prevalence of overweight was 50.8%. There were significantly more boys (57.1%) than girls (45.2%) in the overweight category. An examination of biological, socio-economic and dietary factors, including birth weight, breastfeeding, day care attendance, traditional and market food consumption and sweetened beverage consumption revealed no significant associations that could explain the development of obesity risk in this population.Conclusions. Stature in preschool-age Inuit children is comparable to the U.S. reference, indicating that the previously reported secular trend toward increasing height has continued. Overweight prevalence is higher than that previously reported in Inuit children and may be occurring at an earlier age. The gender difference in child overweight prevalence runs counter to that reported in adults, leading to concern that contemporary growth patterns may result in significant increases in obesity-related illness for young Inuit men.