East-Greenland traditional nutrition: a reanalysis of the Inuit energy balance and the macronutrient consumption from the Høygaard nutritional data (1936-1937)

Figures & data

Figure 1. Locations in East Greenland of the Høygaard Study 1936–1937

Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the 35 participants (Høygaard Study 1936–1937)

	Males (n = 21)		Females (n = 14)
	Median	IQR	Median	IQR
Age (years)	35	15	29	9
Height (cm)	162	2	156	3
Weight (kg)	65	2	62	4
Body mass index (kg/m^2)	25	1	25	3
Number of days food records	N	%	N	%
From 1 to 10 days	13	62	7	50
From 11 to 20 days	7	33	7	50
More than 20 days	1	5	0	0
Living place in East Greenland	N	%	N	%
Amituarsuk	1	4	2	14
Ikateq	2	10	0	0
Kulusuk	2	10	2	14
Qernertivartivit	3	14	2	14
Sermiligaq	6	29	3	22
Titeqilaq	4	19	3	22
Igdlumiut (trading station)	2	10	1	7
Tasisaq (trading station)	1	4	1	7

IQR = interquartile range

Table 2. Mean energy consumption and sources of energy consumption for the 35 participants (Høygaard Study 1936–1937)

	Males		Females
	Median	IQR	Median	IQR
Total energy consumption (kcal.d^−1)	3881	1568	2910	882
From animal	3751	1456	2829	738
From plant	131	149	99	108
From traditional	3685	1341	2720	745
From imported	88	513	148	387
Total energy consumption (kcal.d^−1) (n = 30 – without 5 individuals living near trading centres)	3268	219	2634	723
From animal	3149	1470	2556	682
From plant	118	132	41	99
From traditional	3119	1403	2490	1113
From imported	4	9	5	16
Total protein consumption (kcal.d^−1)	1480	694	1120	350
From animal	1473	696	1115	360
From plant	7	11	5	8
From traditional	1480	676	1118	330
From imported	6	28	8	22
Total fat consumption (kcal.d^−1)	1281	772	1002	436
From animal	1244	831	1001	453
From plant	6	45	4	34
From traditional	1190	774	948	433
From imported	5	6	4	34
Total carbohydrate consumption (kcal.d^−1)	383	1324	415	997
From animal	271	1207	368	885
From plant	75	153	57	99
From traditional	383	848	309	640
From imported	75	480	132	362

IQR = interquartile range

Table 3. Energy expenditure and energy balance of the 35 adult participants (Høygaard Study 1936–1937)

Adults (n = 36)	Males		Females
	Median	IQR	Median	IQR
Rest metabolic rate (kcal.day^−1)^a	1551	104	1352	25
Dietary induced thermogenesis (kcal.day^−1)^b	155	10	132	3
Energy expenditure by physical activity (kcal.day^−1)^c	1551	104	985	18
Total energy expenditure (kcal.day^−1)^d	3257	217	2490	46
Energy balance (kcal.day^−1)^e	527	1598	398	920

IQR = interquartile range

^aRest metabolic rate estimated by Harris-Benedict 1984 (see method section) (kcal.day⁻¹);

^bDietary-induced thermogenesis estimated as 10% of rest metabolic rate (kcal.day⁻¹);

^cEnergy expenditure by physical activity estimated from the Høygaard data (kcal.day⁻¹) with a physical activity level of 2.10 for males and 1,82 for females, corresponding to moderate to high physical activity level (see methods);

^dTotal energy expenditure (kcal.day⁻¹) (= sum of rest metabolic rate + dietary induced thermogenesis + energy expenditure by physical activity);

^eEnergy balance (kcal.day⁻¹) = energy intake (kcal.day⁻¹) – energy expenditure (kcal.day⁻¹).

Figure 2. Energy balance versus imported food (kcal.d⁻¹) for the 35 adult participants (Høygaard Study 1936–1937)

Data availability statement

All data available on request (corresponding author).