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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2005 Jul 1;96(Suppl 3):S36–S41. doi: 10.1007/BF03405199

Determinants of Healthy Eating in Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: The Current State of Knowledge and Research Gaps

Les déterminants de la saine alimentation chez les peuples autochtones du Canada: État actuel des connaissances et lacunes au niveau de la recherche

Noreen D Willows 1,✉
PMCID: PMC6976035

Abstract

Aboriginal peoples are the original inhabitants of Canada. These many diverse peoples have distinct languages, cultures, religious beliefs and political systems. The current dietary practices of Aboriginal peoples pose significant health risks. Interventions to improve the nutritional status of Aboriginal peoples must reflect the realities of how people make food choices and therefore should be informed by an understanding of contemporary patterns of food procurement, preparation and distribution. Most of the literature documenting the health of Aboriginal peoples is primarily epidemiologic, and there is limited discussion of the determinants that contribute to health status. The majority of studies examining dietary intake in Aboriginal communities do not aim to study the determinants of food intake per se even though many describe differences in food intake across sex, age groups, seasons and sometimes communities, and may describe factors that could have an effect on food consumption (e.g., employment status, level of education, household size, presence of a hunter/trapper/fisher, occupation, main source of income). For these reasons, there are many gaps in knowledge pertaining to the determinants of healthy eating in Aboriginal peoples that must be filled. Given the diversity of Aboriginal peoples, research to address the gaps should take place at both the national level and at a more local level. Research would be important for each of Inuit, Métis and First Nations.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.1007/BF03405199 and is accessible for authorized users.

MeSH terms: Canada, diet, food habits, Indians, North American, Inuit, nutrition

French language version/Version en Français

41997_2005_BF03405199_MOESM1_ESM.pdf (99.2KB, pdf)

Les déterminants de la saine alimentation chez les peuples autochtones du Canada: État actuel des connaissances et lacunes au niveau de la recherche

Footnotes

Acknowledgements and source of support: The author appreciated the comments and editorial suggestions of Valerie Tarasuk, Olivier Receveur, and Brenda McIntyre, which benefitted the paper immensely. Noreen Willows is an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Population Health Investigator.

Remerciements: L’auteur tient à remercier Valerie Tarasuk, Olivier Receveur et Brenda Mclntyre pour leurs commentaires éditoriaux, la profondeur de leurs recherches bibliographiques ainsi que l’organisation des références utilisées dans le cadre du présent article. Noreen Willows est chercheure auprès de la Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Population Health.

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