INDIGENOUS HEALTH ISSUE.

Running head: INDIGENOUS HEALTH ISSUE
INDIGENOUS HEALTH ISSUE
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INDIGENOUS HEALTH ISSUE1
Low intake of fruit and vegetables result in a nutritional imbalance among the
indigenous population that is responsible for severe health issues like malnutrition, type 2
diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Hence, the study aims to identify
the health issue and the factor that is responsible for accelerating this issue among the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. The aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are
the primary residents of Australia, who grieve from deprived well-being condition as related
to the other Australians because they are largely open to diverse determinants of health that
result in poor health. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people mostly belong to the
poor socio-economic background with deprived developmental knowledge, which is further
accountable for deteriorating health illness of the population (Australian Institute of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2019). This study will focus on the deprived
well-being condition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people because they are
unable to eat proper food that is rich in nutrients and minerals. The deprived diet is directly
related to the onset of diet-associated chronic issues that result in high mortality rate among
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as linked to the other Australian population
(Lukaszyk et al. 2018). This study will highlight the factors or social determinants of health
that is majorly accountable for the deprived health situation of the people associated with the
contemporary healthcare strategy that will aim to reduce the health issues faced by large
population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The study will conclude by
exhibiting the crucial and effective program that will be completely acceptable by the
population and also as sit in reducing the alarming rate of nutrition-related health issue (Blake
et al. 2018).
A large amount of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals suffer from
different types of health issues that arise because of different social determinants of health.
Internationally, huge number of indigenous population suffers from bad health condition and

INDIGENOUS HEALTH ISSUE2
high mortality rate as related to the non-indigenous population. Different factors are
responsible for this gap among the indigenous and non-indigenous population among which
dietary factors play a crucial role (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2019). This study
will primarily focus on the health issue of low fruit and vegetable intake, which arise due to
poor intake of nutrition among the indigenous population that contribute to different types of
health issue like malnutrition, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and
overweight.
The consumption of nutrition-rich food is influenced by different factors that are
responsible for the nutrition-related health issue such as socio-economic drawback,
environmental, social and environmental factor (Thurber et al. 2017). The risk of low intake
of fruit and vegetables is considered as one of the major health concern in Australia and is
accountable for 10% of the complete burden of disease (BoD) and is almost double between
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. According to the national survey, it was
published that 78% of the children from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population
met the recommendations of consuming fruits and only 16% of the populace met the
recommendation of consuming vegetables. Due to their poor socio-economic status they
cannot afford the fruits and vegetables rich in nutrients and other minerals, which will help
the children and the young adults to lead a healthy life (Australian Bureau of Statistics,
2019). The ability to consume vegetables and fruits is influenced by different factors such as
lack of availability, affordability and accessibility as huge number of indigenous population
reside in the remote areas of Australia, especially in South Australia.
The consumption of healthy and nutrient-rich food is considered as a significant factor
for maintaining a healthy life. The inequality in the living condition among the indigenous
and non-indigenous population is extremely high and is also considered as one of the largest
issues in the world. This inequality takes place due to different types of demographic, cultural

INDIGENOUS HEALTH ISSUE3
and community factors which increase the risk of poor health condition among the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander population (Brimblecombe et al. 2018). A large number of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population reside in the isolated and disadvantaged
areas of Australia, where they lack proper accessibility and availability of different nutrient-
rich vegetables and fruits. The lack of accessibility and availability is considered as one of the
major demographic factors that result in the deprived health outcome of the indigenous
population.
The lack of awareness regarding the important nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits is
also one of the major factors as a large number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people are uneducated and unaware of the significance of nutrient-rich food and the total
quantity of fruits and vegetables they must consume on a regular basis to be healthy (Lee and
Ride 2018). This lack of awareness results in various nutrient-associated health issues and
generate a health gap among the indigenous and non-indigenous population that ultimately
leads to high mortality rate and death of young adults among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander population (Grunseit et al. 2019). The socioeconomic disadvantage is also one of the
major key factors that result in low fruit and vegetable intake.
Among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community only 6% of their houses
comprise of all the essential well-being hardware that is required to store, cook and prepare
foods such as bench space, stove, cupboards, sink and refrigeration. The Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander individuals have poor access to safe drinking water, garbage disposal
and safe sewage that is considered as the significant aspect of maintaining an effective health
condition and living lifestyle (National Rural Health Alliance, 2019). Hence, even they buy
nutrient-rich food, they lack adequate space to store the food. The indigenous people residing
in the countryside or inaccessible areas of Australia have reduced quality and variety of
proper nutritious food. Few healthy fruits and vegetables are also sparely available among the