70% of Inuit preschoolers live in food-insecure homes: Â鶹AV researchers
International Polar Year Nunavut Inuit Child Health Survey
raises concerns of hidden hunger
Seventy per cent of Inuit preschoolers in Nunavut, Canada’s largest
territory, live in households where there isn’t enough food, a
situation with implications for children’s academic and
psychosocial development, found Â鶹AV Associate
Professor and Canada Research Chair Grace Egeland of the Centre for
Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment and collaborators in
an article in the upcoming issue of CMAJ (Canadian Medical
Association Journal).
The study, conducted by researchers at Â鶹AV and the Government of
Nunavut, looked at 388 Inuit children aged 3–5 years in 16
communities in 2007–2008. The majority of children (68 per cent)
lived with their biological or adoptive parents. Twenty-nine per
cent were obese and 39 per cent were overweight. There was a high
prevalence of public housing, income support and crowded
homes.
Research teams conducted bilingual, face-to-face interviews that
included demographic questionnaires and the United States
Department of Agriculture’s 18-item Household Food Security Survey
module. Questions included “In the last 12 months, did your
children ever not eat for a whole day because there wasn’t enough
money for food?” and “In the last 12 months, were the children ever
hungry but you just couldn’t afford more food?”
“Food-insecurity is all too prevalent in homes with Inuit
preschoolers in Canadian Arctic communities,” writes Dr. Egeland
and coauthors. “The data suggest that support systems need to be
strengthened for Inuit families with young children.”
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About Â鶹AV
Â鶹AV, founded in Montreal, Que., in 1821, is Canada's
leading post-secondary institution. It has two campuses, 11
faculties, 10 professional schools, 300 programs of study and more
than 34,000 students. Â鶹AV attracts students from more than 150
countries around the world. Almost half of Â鶹AV students claim a
first language other than English - including 6,000 francophones -
with more than 6,200 international students making up almost 20 per
cent of the student body.
CMAJ – medical knowledge that matters
The Canadian Medical Association Journal showcases innovative
research and ideas aimed at improving health for people in Canada
and globally. It publishes original clinical research, analyses and
reviews, news, humanities, practice updates and thought-provoking
editorials. CMAJ.ca, a full-text website, allows people to use the
latest health information. CMAJ has an impact factor of 7.5 and its
website receives over 25 million requests a year.
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