Overweight and obesity are associated with several life-threating comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Obesity is a growing health concern in North America, with some groups experiencing higher levels of obesity than others. One group of particular interest is urban Aboriginal youth because they are a quickly growing population who experience high rates of obesity. Obesity is a complex condition with many contributing factors, diet being one of the primary contributors. In this article, we discuss the findings from an ethnographic study that examined determinants of diet for urban Aboriginal youth. Results revealed two themes: (a) Traditions and Sharing, and (b) The Struggle. The findings with Traditions and Sharing showed that food-sharing networks are often used to acquire traditional food. Traditional foods were believed to be healthy and desired by the participants. The theme The Struggle provides insight into the daily challenges the participants faced with food insecurity. Health promotion professionals need to consider the multiplicity of determinants of diet for urban Aboriginal youth in order to plan and implement culturally appropriate health promotion programs.
AnandS. S.AtkinsonS.BlimkieC.BrouwersM.MorrisonK.GersteinH.. . . SowdenJ. (2007). A family-based intervention to promote healthy lifestyles in an aboriginal community in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 98, 447-452.
2.
BickelG.NordM.PriceC.HamiltonW. L.CookJ. T. (2000). Guide to measuring household food security. Alexandria, VA: USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
3.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research. (2008). Guidelines for health research involving aboriginal people. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Author.
4.
Constitution Act of Canada, Section 35(2) (1982).
5.
DehghanM.Akhtar-DaneshN.MerchantA. T. (2005). Childhood obesity, prevalence and prevention. Nutrition Journal, 4, 24.
6.
Fagot-CampagnaA.PettittD.EngelgauM.BurrowsN.GeissL.ValdezR.. . . Venkat NarayanK. (2000). Type 2 diabetes among North adolescents: An epidemiologic health perspective. Journal of Pediatrics, 136, 664-672.
GideonV.GrayJ.NicholasW.HaP. (2008). First Nations youth health: Recognizing the challenges, recognizing the potential. Horizons, 10(1), 82-90.
9.
GittelsohnJ.HarrisS. B.BurrisK. L.KakegamicL.LandmanL. T.SharmaA.. . . ZinmanB. (1996). Use of ethnographic methods for applied research on diabetes among the Ojibway Cree in Northern Ontario. Health Education & Behavior, 23, 365-382.
10.
GittelsohnJ.RoacheC.KratzmannM.ReidR.OginaJ.SharmaS. (2010). Participatory research for chronic disease prevention in Inuit communities. American Journal of Health Behavior, 34, 453-464.
11.
HoL.GittelsohnJ.RimalR.TreuthM.SharmaS.RosecransA.HarrisS. (2008). An integrated multi-institutional diabetes prevention program improves knowledge and healthy food acquisition in northwestern Ontario First Nations. Health Education & Behavior, 35, 561-573.
12.
JerniganV.DuranB.AhnD.WinklebyM. (2010). Changing patterns in health behaviors and risk factors related to cardiovascular disease Among American Indians and Alaska Natives. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 677-683.
13.
KhalilC.Johnson-DownL.EgelandG. (2010). Emerging obesity and dietary habits among James Bay Cree youth. Public Health Nutrition, 13, 1829-1837.
14.
KuhnleinH.ErasmusB.Creed-KanashiroH.EnglbergerE.OkekeC.TurnerN.. . . BhattacharjeeL. (2006). Indigenous peoples’ food systems for health: Finding interventions that work. Public Health Nutrition, 9, 1013-1019.
15.
KuhnleinH.ReceveurO. (2007). Local cultural animal food contributes high level of nutrients for Arctic Canadian indigenous adults and children. Journal of Nutrition, 137, 1110-1114.
16.
MilburnM. (2004). Indigenous nutrition: Using traditional food knowledge to solve contemporary health problems. American Indian Quarterly, 28, 411-434.
17.
MorseJ. M.FieldP. A. (1995a). An overview of qualitative methods. In MorseJ. M.FieldP. A. (Eds.), Qualitative research methods for health professionals (2nd ed., pp. 21-41). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
18.
MorseJ. M.FieldP. A. (1995b). Principals of data analysis. In MorseJ. M.FieldP. A. (Eds.), Qualitative research methods for health professionals (2nd ed., pp. 125-249). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
19.
NgC.YoungT. K.CoreyP. (2010). Associations of television viewing, physical activity and dietary behaviours with obesity in aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadian youth. Public Health Nutrition, 13, 1430-1437.
20.
OudeL. H.BaurL.JansenH.ShrewsburyV. A.O’MalleyC.StolkR. P.SummerbellC. D. (2009). Interventions for treating obesity in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic, (1), CD001872. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001872.pub2
21.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). London, England: Sage.
22.
PigfordA. E.WillowsN. D.HoldN. L.NewtonA. S.BallG. D. C. (2012). Using First Nations children’s perceptions of food and activity to inform an obesity prevention strategy. Qualitative Health Research, 22, 986-996.
23.
PoirierP.GilesT.BrayG.HongY.SternJ.Pi-SunyerF. X.EckelR. (2006). Obesity and cardiovascular disease, pathophysiology, evaluation and effect of weight loss. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 26, 968-976.
24.
Public Health Agency of Canada & the Canadian Institute for Health Information. (2011). Obesity in Canada: A joint report from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (Catalogue No. HP5-107/2011E-PDF). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Author. Retrieved from http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-ps/hl-mvs/oic-oac/assets/pdf/oic-oac-eng.pdf
25.
SacherP.KolotourouM.ChadwickP.ColeT.LawsonM.LucasA.SinghalA. (2010). Randomized controlled trial of the MEND program: A family-based community intervention for childhood obesity. Obesity, 18(Suppl. 1), S62-S68.
26.
SaksvigB.GittelsohnJ.HarrisS.HanleyA.ValenteT.ZinmanB. (2005). A pilot school-based healthy eating and physical activity intervention improves diet, food knowledge, and self-efficacy for native Canadian children. Journal of Nutrition, 135, 2392-2398.
27.
SchellL.GalloM. (2012). Overweight and obesity among North American Indian infants, children, and youth. American Journal of Human Biology, 24, 302-313.
28.
SmylieJ.AndersonM. (2006). Understanding the health of Indigenous peoples in Canada: Key methodological and conceptual challenges. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 175, 602.
29.
SmylieJ.Kaplan-MyrthN.McShaneK., Metis Nation of Ontario-Ottawa Council, Pikwakanagan First Nation, & Tungasuvvingat Inuit Family Resource Centre. (2009). Indigenous knowledge translation: Baseline findings in a qualitative study of the pathways of health knowledge in three indigenous communities in Canada. Health Promotion Practice, 10, 436-446.
30.
SmylieJ.MartinC.Kaplan-MyrthN.SteeleL.TaitC.HoggW. (2004). Knowledge translation and Indigenous knowledge. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 63, 139-143.
St. LegerL. H. (1999). The opportunities and effectiveness of the health promoting primary school in improving child health: A review of the claims and evidence. Health Education Research, 14, 51-69.
33.
StruthersR.HodgeF.Geishirt-CantrellB.De CoraL. (2003). Participant experiences of talking circles on type 2 diabetes in two Northern Plains American Indian tribes. Qualitative Health Research, 13, 1094-1115.
34.
ThompsonS. J.GiffordS. M.ThorpeL. (2000). The social and cultural context of risk and prevention: Food and physical activity in an urban aboriginal community. Health Education & Behavior, 27, 725-743.
35.
ViolaA. (2006). Evaluation of the outreach School Garden Project: Building the capacity of two Indigenous remote school communities to integrate nutrition into the core school curriculum. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 17, 233-239.
36.
WaldramJ. B.HerringD. A.YoungT. K. (2006). Aboriginal health in Canada: Historical, cultural, and epidemiological perspectives. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto.
37.
WillowsN. D. (2005). Determinants of healthy eating in aboriginal peoples in Canada: The current state of knowledge and research gaps. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96(3), 32-36.
38.
WillowsN. D.VeugelersP.RaineK.KuhleS. (2009). Prevalence and sociodemographic risk factors related to household food security in aboriginal peoples in Canada. Public Health Nutrition, 12, 1150-1156.
