- Title
- Indigenous communities’ diet and associated health implications
- Creator
- Sharma, Shruti
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- The vast health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations globally are largely attributable to chronic conditions reaching epidemic levels. Although chronic conditions are often related to diet, it is difficult to establish a direct association because chronic disease can take decades to develop. Taking a new approach, this thesis aims to explore the association between dietary intake and the intermediary risk factors that contribute to chronic disease in Indigenous populations. A review of the available literature on Indigenous peoples in developed and developing nations reveals that dietary risk factors are an early reflection of chronic conditions in later life. Studies were conducted in Australia and India using secondary data analysis and field work, respectively, to assess the differences in dietary intake between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations and within Indigenous populations. Because traditional foods are an important part of Indigenous diets, trace metals found in traditional foods in both Australia and India were analysed in the laboratory. The intermediate risk factors for chronic disease (i.e. underweight and high blood pressure) in Indian Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations were also evaluated. In the Australian study, secondary data analysis based on the most comprehensive survey till date ̶ Australian Health Survey (AHS, 2011–13) that included nutrition information for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous population was conducted to assess differences in dietary intake between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations as well as between remote and urban Indigenous populations. The main differences observed pertained to the intake of dietary fibre, cholesterol, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. High sodium intake appeared in both male (Z scores: Mean Daily Intake [MDI] = 2.24, Nutrient Density [ND] = 2.01]) and female (ND = 2.21) children aged 2–3 years. In both male and female children aged 4–8 years, there was a low intake of dietary fibre (males: ND = 2.58; females: ND = 2.26), calcium (males: ND = 2.17; females: ND = 3.54), potassium (males: ND = 2.33; females: ND = 2.25) and zinc (males: ND = 2.02; females: MDI = 2.92). In remote Indigenous communities, both males and females reported a higher intake of protein (males: ND = 5.30; females: MDI = 3.65, ND = 4.82), omega-3 fatty acids (males: MDI = 2.86, ND = 3.57; females: MDI = 4.08, ND = 4.07), cholesterol (males: ND = 3.07; females: MDI = 3.54, ND = 2.96), iron (males: ND = 4.38; females: MDI = 3.27, ND = 6.07), selenium (males: ND = 4.30; females: MDI = 3.84, ND = 3.27) and zinc (males: ND = 5.35; females: MDI = 3.67, ND = 4.33) and a lower intake of total fat (males: MDI = 3.02, ND = 1.9; female: ND = 2.50), dietary fibre (males: MDI = 3.30; females: ND = 2.44), calcium (males: MDI = 5.97, ND = 4.60; females: MDI = 5.32, ND = 6.18), iodine (males: MDI = 4.45, ND = 1.49; females: MDI = 3.27, ND = 3.82) and sodium (males: MDI = 4.24; females: MDI = 2.05, ND = 3.67) compared with Indigenous people in urban centres. These differences have major implications for the prevalence of disease and causes of health disparities (e.g. high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease). To assess the effects of environmental degradation on traditional Australian foods, a range of trace metals, including vanadium, strontium, barium, arsenic, cadmium, lead, zinc, copper and chromium, were examined in 23 bush foods. Twenty-one of the 23 bush food samples had a Metal Pollution Index (MPI) value of greater than 1. Cinnamon myrtle (Hazard Index (HI) = 6.15), lemon myrtle (HI = 2.52; copper Hazard Quotient (HQ) = 2.36) and sea parsley (HI = 1.42; vanadium HQ = 0.34, arsenic HQ = 0.34) had the worst implications for human health at a minimum consumption rate (60 g/day). In the study conducted in India, the diets of three Indigenous groups and one non-Indigenous group were compared. The Indigenous Sabar people, who rely mainly on foods sourced from markets, had the highest intermediate risk factors for chronic disease (39.5% had stage 2 high blood pressure, and 52.4% were underweight), particularly compared with the Dangaria Kandha people—their most food-secure (86.4%) counterparts—who sourced their food from a wider range of sources, including markets, agriculture and forests. The mean weight of the Sabar group (45.7 ± 10.6 kg) was significantly lower than that of the non-Indigenous group (54 ± 10 kg) (p = 0.003). Hypertension was most prevalent among the Sabar group (48.8%) compared with the other three groups (Lanjia Saura: 26.9%; Dangaria Kandha: 21.7%; non-Indigenous: 33.4%). Sixteen foods being consumed by Indigenous people in India were assessed for their levels of trace metals, revealing that Oryza sativa, Vigna mungo, Macrotyloma uniflorum and Setaria italica had the potential to cause harm because of their high arsenic, selenium, cadmium and lead concentrations. The HI value for arsenic in three samples of Oryza sativa was the highest in the Sabar group (6.6, 5.1 and 3.1) and lowest in the non-Indigenous group (5.4, 4.1 and 2.5). The high HI values across all food samples in the Sabar group coexisted with the group’s statistically significant low mean weight (45.7 kg) compared with the mean weight of the non-Indigenous group (54 kg), indicating a higher health risk for underweight Indigenous populations.
- Subject
- Indigenous; diet; health; intermediary risk factors
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1445687
- Identifier
- uon:42644
- Rights
- Copyright 2021 Shruti Sharma
- Language
- eng
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