Dietary intake and body mass index of adults in 2 Ojibwe communities

To describe and compare dietary intake and prevalence of overweight in a sample of adults in 2 Ojibwe communities in Mille Lacs, Minn, and Lac Courte Oreilles, Wis.

Cross-sectional survey based on interviews that included a 24-hour recall, food frequency questionnaire, and a sociocultural questionnaire.

One hundred four adult Band (tribe) members were selected randomly from current housing lists; pregnant and lactating women were excluded.

Nonparametric Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to determine differences in absolute nutrient intakes where normality could not be assumed. Two-tailed t tests were conducted to test for differences between nutrient densities. A significance level of alpha = .05 was used; procedurewise adjustments were made using the Bonferroni method when adjusting for multiple comparisons.

The importance of the traditional food system was evident: at least 50% of respondents engaged in hunting and fishing practices. Prevalence of overweight was 47%. Mean nutrient intakes were below the Recommended Dietary Allowance for women for vitamin A, folate, calcium, iron, and zinc and for men for vitamin A and calcium, despite energy intakes that met the Recommended Dietary Allowance. Nutrient densities were lower than those in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for women for carbohydrate, vitamin C, folate, calcium, and dietary fiber and for men for folate and dietary fiber. Fat contributed 37% (for men) and 40% (for women) of energy intake.

Areas of focus for culturally relevant education programs (eg, promotion of traditional foods that provide nutrients of low intake status and low-fat traditional food preparation methods) and research needs are suggested to reduce risks for nutrition-related chronic disease among Native Americans.