Aboriginal children and obesity

It is well known that obesity is a growing problem around the world. However, various studies and research done on Aboriginal people in Canada show that people in Aboriginal communities have higher rates of obesity than other Canadians. As well, Aboriginal people tend to have overall worse health and well-being than other Canadians. The reasons for this are complex.

Q: What is obesity?

Simply put, obesity is when a person has too much fat on their body. Having too much fat can put you at risk of all sorts of diseases and conditions.

Q: What causes obesity?

Obesity is caused by an imbalance of “energy in and energy out.” So, if you’re eating too much food and not getting enough exercise, you might be at risk of becoming obese.

This is a very simple way of looking at obesity, and we need to consider many other factors when thinking about what causes obesity in Aboriginal communities.

A recent report, Obesity: An Overview of Current Landscape and Prevention-Related Activities in Ontario by the Public Health Agency of Canada, explains that a person’s weight is affected by:

• What they eat
• How active they are
• The environments in which they live, learn, work, and play
• A complex combination of biological, lifestyle, socio-economic, cultural, and environmental factors (4)

Q: Are there special issues to consider when thinking about obesity in Aboriginal communities?

Yes. The Public Health Agency report gives statistics that show the alarming difference in rates of obesity amongst First Nations children versus non-First Nations children in Canada as follows:

• In 2004, 26 percent of Canadian children (ages 2 to 17) were assessed as being overweight or obese (9)
• In 2004, 55 percent of First Nations children living on reserve and 41 percent living off reserve were overweight or obese (10)

The report goes onto state, “The health of Aboriginal Canadians is worse than the health of the rest of Canadians for almost every health status, measure and condition” (10).

Q: Why focus on children?

Children are like sponges. You may have heard that the first six or seven years of a child’s life are the most important from a health perspective, because this is when a child’s development is most rapid.

Children form their lifelong habits during their earliest years. They model their behaviours based on what they see happening around them. So if they see their parents eating healthy and getting exercise, then they will be more likely to develop these habits.

When young children become obese, which is happening more and more, they are more likely to develop “chronic” diseases (such as type 2 diabetes) and other problems such as low self-esteem and depression.

When you think about our Aboriginal communities, you may be able to connect the relation between childhood obesity and (un)healthy communities. For example, we know that our communities face much higher rates of youth suicide than other Canadian communities. Although the reasons for these higher rates are complex, you could speculate that having higher rates of obesity and worse health outcomes are related to higher rates of suicide.

Q: How can we keep obesity from happening to our Aboriginal children?

The report by the Public Health Agency of Canada cited above says, “To effectively address obesity and its prevention, a comprehensive systems approach is required to support a healthy environment, to improve health and to address the increasing burden of chronic disease in Ontario… it is important to address the issue of obesity and its prevention early in life” (4).

Simply put, preventing obesity is going to take effort from all levels. Parents, health care providers, businesses, non-profit organizations, and all levels of government are going to have to work together to create spaces in which children can grow into healthy adults.

While our toolkit and training mainly aims to help service providers in Ontario to develop culturally appropriate ways of combating obesity amongst Aboriginal children, it may also raise awareness of the various obstacles that our Aboriginal communities face in their attempts to achieve better health for their children.