| Chronic non-communicable diseases related to excessive or unbalanced dietary intakes are on the rise among some Indigenous populations in Canada. Nutritional problems of Indigenous peoples arise in the transition from a traditional diet to a market diet characterised by highly processed foods with reduced nutrient density. This study used food frequency and 24-hour recall questionnaires to quantify traditional food intake in 18 communities in Denendeh (Western Northwest Territories) and the Yukon. These data allowed comparisons between the two regions (Yukon and Denendeh) and the two seasons of data collection (summer and winter, perceived to be the seasons of highest and lowest traditional food intake, respectively). Food choice in general is affected by a multitude of factors determined by individual, societal and environmental influences. In this study, individual, household, and community correlates of traditional food intake were assessed in order to construct a multivariate statistical model to describe the correlates of the quantity and diversity of traditional food intake in the Western Canadian Arctic. The variables used in this study reflected household demography, market food affordability, access to traditional food, individual characteristics such as age and gender, and perceptions about traditional food. The analysis of the associations between the traditional food correlates and traditional food intake in terms of quantity and diversity allowed for the description of the profile of men and women who are high consumers of traditional food in both regions. This study described and used a tool to measure traditional food diversity, which may be an appropriate indicator of the process of dietary change experienced by Indigenous Peoples in Denendeh and the Yukon. |
