Dietary patterns of Akwesasne Mohawk adolescents

Abstract

Background: Native American youth have greater rates of overweight/obesity than same-aged youth from the general population. Even though dietary shifts are suspected, surprisingly little information exists concerning the dietary patterns of contemporary Native American adolescents.

Aim: This study examines the dietary composition of Native American adolescents residing in upstate New York at the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. The goal of this investigation is to assess the food patterns of Akwesasne adolescents via a total diet approach.

Participants/setting and methods: The sample is comprised of 246 Mohawk adolescents between the ages of 10–16.9 years of age residing at the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. Food frequency data was collected from adolescents via interview during a cross-sectional study investigating their exposure to environmental pollutants.

Results and conclusion: Nutrient-dilute but energy-dense foods characterize most of the top 10 dietary sources of energy, carbohydrates, and fat. Although micronutrient intakes are by and large adequate in the sample, micronutrients are most often derived from highly fortified food sources. Adolescent diets contain few naturally-occurring sources of many micronutrients, especially folate and iron. A narrow variety of foods dominate the top dietary sources across both macronutrient and micronutrients, strongly suggesting the need for increased dietary diversity within this age group.

• Adolescents
• diet composition
• environmental contamination
• Native Americans

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend their sincerest thanks to the youth and their families who generously participated in this study, the Mohawk Adolescent Wellbeing Study, Project 1 of the Superfund Research Program. Additionally, we thank the community members of Akwesasne for their significant contributions. The continued input and feedback from Akwesasne community members was an invaluable component of the partnership process.