CARACTERÍSTICAS TÉCNICAS GENERALES

Aboriginal children are disproportionately affected by obesity, and this condition is associated with adverse health outcomes in both the short and long terms. This study set out to investigate potential predictors of weight status among two Aboriginal identity groups that have not been well explored in the literature: Métis and off-reserve First Nations children. In particular, associations between food

insecurity, diet, and obesity status were assessed using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. BLR and POM analyses were conducted with data from the 2006 APS – Children and Youth component, and focus groups were carried out with parents and caregivers of First Nations and Métis children.

The present study reiterated that weight issues were prevalent for both First Nations and Métis children. According to the 2006 APS, 21% of First Nations children between the ages of 6 and 14 were overweight, and 18% were obese. Approximately 22% of Métis children were overweight, and 15% were obese. Hence during the focus groups, it was expected that obesity would be a concern for members of the communities studied.

While fruits, vegetables, and junk food are only a few of the broad food categories that composed children’s  diets,  they act as proxy measures for children’s  diet  quality.  Descriptive  statistics  from  the  APS   analysis indicate that First Nations and Métis children consume foods from the F&V and junk food categories at similar frequencies. More children ate F&V everyday compared to junk food everyday (35.8% of First Nations children ate F&V everyday and 19.4% ate junk food everyday; 30.7% of Métis children ate F&V everyday and 19.7% had junk food everyday), however 40 to 50% of First Nations and Métis children had both F&V and junk food five or six days per week.

Certain PMK-reported F&V and junk food frequency categories were significantly associated with obesity. For First Nations children, having junk food five or six days per week was consistently associated with an increased risk of overweight or obesity when controlling for numerous factors. For

junk food were less likely to be overweight or obese, but not under all control conditions. Other studies have found similar associations between F&V intake and weight status. A study conducted using the 2004 CCHS found that children who ate F&V five or more times per day were significantly less likely to be overweight or obese than those who ate F&V less frequently (Shields, 2005). Lin & Morrison (2002) found that children of different weights consumed different amounts of fruit, however the differences for vegetable consumption and weight were not statistically significant (Lin & Morrison, 2002). Overweight children between the ages of 5 and 12 ate less fruit than children with BMIs indicative of healthy weights, although this relationship was not the same for vegetable intake (Lin & Morrison, 2002). Some tentative explanations of this include that vegetables can be prepared in ways that render them unhealthy or high fat, such as deep-frying. Fruits, on the other hand, are more commonly consumed raw or as juices, and are more likely to be eaten as snacks or desserts where other unhealthy foods could have been eaten (Lin & Morrison, 2002). While the present study did not distinguish between F&V, it is important to consider that different relationships may have emerged had these categories been separated. More research is certainly needed to explore this area in greater detail.

With respect to junk food intake, Rosenheck (2008) found that while eating junk food increased overall energy intake, it did not always correspond with an increase in BMI for children as it did for adults (Rosenheck, 2008). This may be due to the fact that children tend to be more active than adults; hence increased energy expenditure may balance out high energy intakes (Rosenheck, 2008). However high energy intakes and junk food consumption put children at risk for obesity, and many dietary habits and preferences are formed in childhood (Birch, 1999; Rosenheck, 2008). Also, the relationship between F&V or junk food with BMI is not expected to be clear cut since these food groups are only a few of the many components of a complete diet. The relationships between the diet variables and obesity in this study were perhaps also not as concrete in this analysis due to problems with how diet was measured.

the Shields (2005) study had, thus conclusions could not be made about whether or not a child was consuming too many or too few foods from a particular food group. Moreover, overall conclusions about diet quality could not be drawn since details about food brands or preparation were not provided (Hu et al., 1999; Rockett et al., 1995). In order to work around these limitations, we made tentative conclusions about diet quality, and only frequency of consumption as categorized in the APS are reported.

Despite this survey limitation, it was clear from the focus group discussions that parents and caregivers  had  significant  concerns  about  children’s  diets.  First Nations and Métis caregivers spoke extensively  about  how  children’s  diets  were  high  in  processed  foods,  and  this  was  expected  to  be  linked to the increased prevalence of obesity, in addition to many other co-morbidities such as T2D. While the descriptive statistics from the quantitative analysis indicate that Métis and First Nations children are eating F&V more frequently than they eat junk food, the focus groups placed emphasis on the fact that many children were consuming both healthy and unhealthy foods at the same time. Overall, children’s   preference for junk foods was linked to the increased prevalence of overweight in the communities studied.