Dietary habits of Aboriginal children

Abstract

Based on the results of Statistics Canada's 2006 Aboriginal Children's Survey, this article presents an overview of how often First Nations children living off reserve, Métis children and Inuit children aged 2 to 5 consume various types of food, including foods considered traditional or country among Aboriginal people. The frequency with which First Nations children living off reserve and Métis children consumed items from major food groups tended to be similar. While lower percentages of Inuit children were reported to regularly consume items from these food groups, relatively high percentages of Inuit children consumed traditional or country foods. Around two-thirds of all Aboriginal children ate fast food and processed foods at least once a week, and just over half had salty snacks, sweets and desserts at least once a day. Consumption patterns varied, depending on whether children lived in a Census Metropolitan Area/Census Agglomeration.

Keywords: Aboriginal; child health; diet; food; indigenous; malnutrition.