Title: Emiyuu Ayayaachiit Awaash Project
1Emiyuu Ayayaachiit Awaash Project
- Noreen Willows (Principal Investigator, Alberta
Heritage Foundation for Medical Research
Population Health Investigator) - Shauna Downs (Graduate Student)
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional
Science, University of Alberta
2Emiyuu Ayayaachiit Awaash Project
- A study to understand the prevalence of unhealthy
body weights and associated risk factors in Cree
children in one rural and one remote community. - Grades 4 - 6 (10 - 12 years old)
- Supported by the Cree Board of Health and Social
Services of James Bay, Band councils, Principals
of schools
3Study Components
- The Following was Collected in Both Communities
- Diet We completed three 24-hour recalls on
non-consecutive days including 1 weekend day. - Physical Fitness The children performed a 20-m
shuttle run test and their times and last stage
completed were recorded. - Physical Activity The children wore pedometers
on two separate days to assess the average number
of steps that they took per day.
4Study Components Contd
- Anthropometric Measures
- Weight (lbs)
- Height (cm)
- Waist circumference (cm)
- BMI (kg/m2)
- The children were asked questions concerning the
availability of food in their household - Potato chips
- Fruits and vegetables
- Chocolate and candy
- Real fruit juice
- Pop/soft drink
- Milk
- Vegetables on their plate at dinner
-
5Participation
- 225 children attended school and were eligible to
participate in the study. - We received parental consent from 208 children.
- After excluding children with missing
information, we obtained a total n of 201 for all
nutrition data and a total n of 178 for all
nutrition and physical activity/fitness data. - Participation Rate 89 (nutrition only)
- Participation Rate 79 (nutrition and PA)
6Weight Status Abdominal Obesity
Fig 2. Prevalence of abdominal obesity
Fig 1. Prevalence of normal weight, overweight
and obesity
2/3 of children were overweight or obese 52 of
children had Abdominal Obesity
7Top Contributors in the diet
8Micronutrient Food Sources
fruit drink kool-aid, tang, punches
etc. traditional foods bear, moose, goose,
moose stew, rabbit, beaver.
9Physical Activity and Fitness
Fig 1. Fitness Levels
Fig 2. Shuttle run times by weight status
Fig 3. of children meeting pedometer
recommendations by weight status and sex
10Differences among Weight Status
- Waist circumference increased with increasing
weight status. - 77.6 of overweight and obese children had
abdominal obesity - Fitness levels declined with increasing weight
status - Normal weight girls took significantly more steps
than obese girls - Overweight boys took more steps than normal
weight and obese boys - Normal weight children consumed significantly
more calories than overweight children.
Energy Imbalance
11Restaurant/Take-out Intake
- 77 of children consumed 1 or more meals from
restaurant/take-out during the three days of
24-hour dietary recall. - 18 of children consumed 3 or more
restaurant/take-out meals in the three days
recall and these children had a poorer diet than
children who consumed no meals at the
restaurant/take-out. - Children who consumed the most meals from
restaurant/take-out had higher intakes of
calories, energy from fat, energy from fat,
energy from saturated fat, sweetened drinks and
pop. - There was no relationship between
restaurant/take-out frequency and BMI or weight
status.
12The home food environment
- Normal weight, overweight and obese children
reported the same availability of foods in the
home. - Children who usually/always had pop, milk, and
real fruit juice in the home consumed
significantly more pop, milk and real fruit juice
than children who never/sometimes had these
beverages in their home. - There was no relationship between the
availability of fruits and vegetables and their
intake.
13Unadjusted OR of factors associated with reduced
odds of overweight/obesity
14Implications
- There is a high prevalence of obesity and
abdominal adiposity in this population, with low
physical activity and fitness levels. This
profile may result in adverse health outcomes. - Our study provided valuable information in
understanding the foods that Cree children eat,
and the contribution of specific foods, including
traditional foods, to the diet. - Our findings provide evidence for the need for
culturally sensitive interventions that target
healthy body weights, physical activity and
nutritious diets in Cree schoolchildren.
15Acknowledgements
- Participants
- The Cree Board of Health and Social Services of
James Bay - Funders Alberta ACADRE Network, CIHR - INMD
HSF - Research Team Dr. Noreen Willows (PI), Dr. Dru
Marshall, Dr. Kim Raine, Dr. Linda McCargar - Graduate Students on the project Carmina Ng,
Amber Arnold, Denise Ridley
16Thank You! Meegwitch!
If you would like more information about this
study, please contact Dr. Noreen Willows at the
University of Alberta in Edmonton. noreen.willows_at_
ualberta.ca Tel (780) 492-3989 or Shauna Downs
downs_at_ualberta.ca Tel (780) 492-8837