Nutrition and Society of the Aboriginal People

This report discusses the nutritional status of the indigenous Australians and the risk factors for childhood obesity among the aboriginals. It also highlights the causes, influencers, and long-term health implications of childhood obesity. The report concludes with public health initiatives to combat childhood obesity in the aboriginal population.

Running head: NUTRITION AND SOCIETY OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
NUTRITION AND SOCIETY OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
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NUTRITION AND SOCIETY OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
Nutrition and Society
The Australian population of choice for this paper is the aboriginals and the Torre strait
Islanders people. The nutritional status of the indigenous Australians is greatly affected by the
geographical and the socioeconomic disadvantages. Poor nutrition among the indigenous
Australians is quite common risk factors for the aboriginals (Liu et al., 2012). This report aims to
discuss about the nutritional status of the indigenous Australians are greatly affected by the
geographical and the socioeconomic disadvantages. Poor nutrition among the indigenous
Australians is quite common risk factors for the aboriginals.
Childhood obesity
Child hood obesity can be defined as a clinical condition that affects the children and the
teenagers. It occurs when there is an excess accumulation of fat in the body. Whenever children
overshot that healthy weight trajectory, their weight becomes disproportionate to their height. If
obesity in the childhood is kept unchecked then it would finally lead to adult obesity (Liu et al.,
2012).
Causes of childhood obesity
Obesity in children can occur due to a number of factors like behavioral, biological, social,
psychological technical, environmental, economic and cultural factors (Gurnani et al., 2015).
Some of the common causes are lack of physical activities, unhealthy diets, genetic and
environmental factors (Liu et al., 2012). Although the culture and the trends of the aboriginal

NUTRITION AND SOCIETY OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
communities are quite different from that of the rest of the Australia, yet the societal trend have
greatly altered the nature of the play and the way children react to the environment.
As per the 2012-2013 health survey of Australia, that included the height and the weight
measurement, about 66% of the indigenous Australians aged 15 years have a high BMI score in
the obese range (37 % obese and 29 % overweight) ("Impact of overweight and obesity as a risk
factor for ...", 2018). Child hood obesity among the indigenous Australians varied
geographically. In the regional areas the obesity is as high as 40 % and the lowest in the very
remote areas.
Long term health implications
Some of the health risks for an obese child are high blood pressure, cholesterol (Pulgarón,
2013). Obese children are likely to develop cardiovascular problems, increased rate of impaired
glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance when they grow into adults. Breathing
problems like asthma and sleep apnea can also occur (Pulgarón, 2013).
Influencers of childhood obesity
Diet and life style
In the national health surveys consumption of fruits and vegetables were found to be lower
among the Indigenous Australians aged between 12 years (Valery et al., 2012). The Torres Strait
islanders were renowned to be high consumers of sea food. A particular concern is their daily
consumption of the sweetened snacks and high energy drinks (Schultz, 2012). Overweight

NUTRITION AND SOCIETY OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
youths were most likely to eat the dugongs regularly that are fried or cooked slowly (Valery et
al., 2012). The energy content of the dugong is high as 900 KJ/100 g which is almost similar to
the fried foods obtained from the fast food outlets. The aboriginal youths are subjected to less
physical activities and mostly play the indoor games that do not burn calories (Schultz, 2012).
Culture and religion
The traditional foods of the aboriginals contained high amount of animal proteins,
micronutrient rah and low in fat or high marine sources of fat. The consumption of the fats was
significantly used up during the physical activities of hunting, fishing. Nowadays, it has been
replaced by diets rich in fat and sugar (Brimblecombe et al., 2013).
Accessibility
Fresh resources might not be available in the remote areas unless they are grown on their
own. Geographically the Torres Strait Islander people are geographically separated from the
Australian mainland by significant water bodies. Owing to the long distances, the cost of the
fruits and the vegetables is 20.6% higher than that of the major Queens land areas (Schultz,
2012).
Food deserts
As discussed earlier, due to the remoteness of the aboriginal population, the distance from the
nearby groceries are quite large to get access to healthy foods. The loss of the traditional hunting

NUTRITION AND SOCIETY OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
and the fishing areas has further constrained their access to fresh foods (Brimblecombe et al.,
2013).
Social determinants
Child hood is a critical period where disparities in the social determinants of health such as
the socio-economic status and obesity come into play. High BMI has been found as a predictor
of short sleep duration for the children (Gurnani et al., 2015).
Obesity is linked with the other health risk factor and the social determinant of health. Financial
stress is one of the predictor of obesity among the aboriginals. Low income is associated with the
dietary choices (Brimblecombe et al., 2013).
Health literacy
Poor health literacy among the aboriginals has contributed to childhood obesity. They
have a less scientific knowledge regarding the nutritive value or the calorific value of foods and
their impact on body (Hay & Carriage, 2012).
Public health initiative to combat childhood obesity in the aboriginal population
Comprehensive nutritional programs have been initiated by the government of Australia
for closing the gap of childhood obesity ("Department of Health | Child and Youth Health",
2016). Some of them are " Looma healthy lifestyle Program, Looma", "Laramba diabetes
project, Laramba, north Tasmania." One of the most significant initiative is the “The healthy
weight policy”, that was polished in conjunction with ‘Eat well Australia’. It contained a

NUTRITION AND SOCIETY OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
framework of national actions that has to be taken to manage the problems of childhood obesity
in Australia ("Department of Health | Child and Youth Health", 2016).
Under this initiative a national obesity task force was constructed to report the
percentages of obese children in the aboriginals. The initiative involved provision of appropriate
weight management services, a coordinated systematic monitoring and surveillance program
regarding sedentary life style, physical activities. Other initiatives involved provision of low cost
grocery store near the aboriginal community with fresh reserves, encouraging them to have
autonomy over farming, to provide nutritious food in schools ("Department of Health |
Nutrition", 2018).
In spite of all these initiatives, the prevalence of child hood obesity is still persistent and
needs to be addressed seriously. The initiatives will only be effective if the rules regarding the
implementation of the strategies by the officials are made stringent and failure to address those
should impose penalty. The health care initiatives should be more accessible to the aboriginal
people in the remotest households, other than just in schools. A community approach is required.

NUTRITION AND SOCIETY OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
References
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http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/oatsih-evidence-
socialhealth-toc~nutrition
Gurnani, M., Birken, C., & Hamilton, J. (2015). Childhood obesity: causes, consequences, and
management. Pediatric Clinics, 62(4), 821-840.
Hay, P. J., & Carriage, C. (2012). Eating disorder features in indigenous Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Australian peoples. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 233.
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as-a-risk-factor-for-chronic-conditions/contents/table-of-contents

NUTRITION AND SOCIETY OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
Liu, J. H., Jones, S. J., Sun, H., Probst, J. C., Merchant, A. T., & Cavicchia, P. (2012). Diet,
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