Nutrient intakes of first nations people in four Yukon communities

Nutrition

Pergamon

NUTRIENT

INTAKES

OF FIRST NATIONS Eleanor

PEOPLE

Research, Vol. 15, No. 8, pp. 1105-1119, 1995 Copyright 0 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0271-5317/95 $9.50 + .ca

IN FOUR YUKON COMMUNITIES

E. Wein*, PhD

Canadian Circumpolar Institute University of Alberta Edmonton, AB T6G 2E2

ABSTRACT Nutrient intakes of 122 First Nations (Indian) adults in four Yukon communities were examined from 381 repeated 24-hour recalls collected over four seasons. Mean nutrient intakes (excluding supplements) met or exceeded Canadian recommendations for protein, phosphorus, iron, zinc, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins B6, B12, and C. Fat provided 36% of Mean intakes of calcium, folate and vitamin dietary energy. A were less than recommended, while vitamin D was less than recommended only for older adults. The proportion of individuals at risk of inadequate nutrient intakes was highest for folate, calcium, vitamins A, D, C and zinc. Traditional foods contributed on average 17% of daily energy, but 50% or more of daily intakes of protein, vitamin B12, riboflavin, niacin, iron, and zinc. Traditional foods remain an important source of daily energy and nutrients. Many Yukon adults, especially older adults, would benefit from greater consumption of foods rich in folate, calcium, vitamins A, D, C and zinc. KEY WORDS:

First Nations,

Yukon

Indians,

nutrient

intakes

INTRODUCTION

Few studies have examined nutrient intakes or nutritional status of First Nations (aboriginal) people living in the Yukon (l3) I and no recent studies have examined diets of people in remote Yukon Indian people are a diverse group, versus urban communities. comprised of seven language and cultural groups (4), and living in 14 communities ranging from a very remote traditional village to urban Whitehorse (5). Hence studies done in only one location may not be typical of broader Yukon aboriginal food patterns. The following study was undertaken as part of a larger study requested by three Yukon First Nations, whose members reside in four locations, namely Haines Junction, Old Crow, Teslin and Whitehorse. * Address correspondence to Eleanor E. Wein, Research Associate, Canadian Circumpolar Institute, old St. Stephen's College, 8820 112th St., University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2E2. 1105

E.E. WEIN

1106

The request arose from a need for data to assist in negotiating land claims, specifically allocation of the wildlife harvest. Thus the purpose of the larger study was to document the role of tradiThe purpose of this part of tional foods in contemporary diets. the study was to examine differences in nutrient intakes of adults and to assess daily nutrient among the four study communities, intakes in relation to health recommendations. Old Crow, a community of 267 people (5), most of whom are Gwich'in, is the most northerly community in the Yukon at 67'N 137' W. The Vuntut Gwich'in people of Old Crow traditionally depended heavily upon the migratory Porcupine Caribou Herd, as well as salmon, whitefish, small mammals, migratory birds, and berries (4) There is no road, and still rely upon these foods today (6,7). and the Porcupine River is too shallow and the population too small to transport supplies economically by barge: hence, marketed food are delivered by air from Whitehorse, and are very supplies expensive (8). Haines Junction, Teslin, and Whitehorse are located in the southern Yukon on the Alaska Highway. Haines Junction, the most westerly at 60' N 137' W, has a population of 616 (5), most of whom belong to the Champagne-Aishihik First Nation. Teslin, the most easterly at 60' N 132' W has a population of 466, most of whom belong to the Teslin Tlingit First Nation. Between these two communities at 60' N 135' W, is urban Whitehorse, the territorial capital, with a population of 21,671. Many aboriginal people of various First Nation membership live in Whitehorse, along with nonnative residents, who account for the majority of the city's population. METHODS The research protocol was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta. A research licence was received from the Heritage Branch, Yukon Territorial Government. The study design was developed in conjunction with aboriginal leaders (at their request and expense) and the Results have been reported to the proposal was approved by them. First Nations in oral and in written form (6). Sample A sample of 122 adults (heads of households) was stratified random sampling. Within each First Nation, were identified based on residence location, namely territory (Haines Junction, Old Crow, or Teslin) and Forty names from each of Old Crow, Haines Junction, Whitehorse were randomly selected. Dietary

selected by two strata traditional Whitehorse. Teslin and

Methods

Data were collected by personal interviews conducted by local aboriginal interviewers trained by the investigator. Using the repeated 24-hour recall method (9,10), individuals were interviewed once in each of four seasons, to recall all foods and beverages

NUTRIENT INTAKE

consumed the preceding day. The interviewer systematically guided the respondent through the day to recall where, when and what he/she ate and the amounts of each food and beverage. Graduated three dimensional food models, built according to Nutrition Canada specifications (10) were used to describe portion sizes. Daily nutrient intakes were calculated by a program developed at the University of Alberta, based on the Canadian Nutrient File (11) to which published values for dietary fibre, zinc, cholesterol, saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin D (12-18) had been previously added to all commonly used foods in the database. For the present study, nutrient values for 21 traditional foods (19 from published sources) were added and for 13 other traditional foods substitute nutrient values were used. The former group included five cooked game meats (moose, caribou, black bear, rabbit and squirrel) for which 16 nutrients (energy, three macronutrients, five minerals, three B-vitamins, cholesterol, total saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids) were added from USDA (1989) (19); caribou dry meat and caribou bone marrow, for which nine nutrients (proximate composition, four minerals and retinol) were obtained from Kuhnlein and Soueida (1992) (20); moose nose, moose bone marrow and three forms of salmon for which 15 nutrients were obtained from Nobmann (1992) (21); dried sockeye and herring eggs for which 11 nutrients were obtained from Drury four species of berries for which 8-13 nutrients (1985) (22); (proximate composition, minerals, and some vitamins) were obtained from Kuhnlein and Turner (1991) (23), and two foods (cooked moose liver and moose dry meat) for which 9 nine unpublished values were obtained (proximate composition and minerals) from CINE (Centre for Nutrition and Environment of Indigenous Peoples, McGill University). Other nutrients needed for the above foods were imputed from similar foods. Substitutions from organs or parts of beef from USDA (1986) (18) were made for 13 foods, namely cooked heart, tongue, kidney, tripe, broth, separable fat for moose and caribou, and liver for caribou. Overall for the 34 added or substitute traditional foods, 38% of energy, macronutrient and iron values were imputted, 44% of phosphorus, 53% of thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, 65% of zinc, 70% of retinol, cholesterol, saturated, mono- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids, 74% of vitamin C, 76% of potassium, 97% of vitamin B6, B12, and folate, and 100% of vitamin D, dietary fibre, starch and sugar values were imputted. These added or substitute foods were 34 of a total of 324 different foods reported in the 381 daily food recalls. Of the added foods, two for which there are good nutrient data (i.e. cooked moose and cooked caribou, USDA, 1989) accounted for over half of the total frequency (241 of 434 occasions) of traditional food consumption. Hence the imputed values are a relatively small proportion of the total nutrient values used in the calculations. Each individual's daily intake was averaged over all seasons for which the individual provided recalls, and the four-day average used to represent his/her usual intake. Nutrients from traditional foods (wild game meats, fish, berries and other plants, of which moose, caribou and salmon were the predominate foods) in daily diets were also calculated separately, and reported as a proportion of daily intakes.

1108

E.E. WEIN

nutrient intakes Daily were compared among the study Statistical analyses were communities, using analysis of variance. conducted using SPSS computer programs (24). Mean daily nutrient intakes were also examined in relation to the 1990 Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNI) (25). The proportion of persons at risk of daily estimated, inadequate nutrient intakes was using the probability method (26) as described by Gibson (10). Since total daily energy intakes were low, nutrient intakes were also examined on a nutrient density basis (per MJ), and the percentage of persons who failed to obtain 2/3 RN1 per MJ was calculated. The frequent consumption of wild game meat (mean frequency 0.9 times daily, mean portion size 107 g) (6,7), along with frequent use of vitamin C enriched fruit drinks suggest that the absorption factors for iron and zinc used in the RN1 based on a mixed diet are appropriate for evaluating intakes in this population. Furthermore, the fibre intakes reported below are unlikely to inhibit absorption of these minerals.

RESULTS In all 122 adults provided a total of 381 recalls over four seasons. They represented 24 to 36% of households in the three participating First Nations. The Haines Junction people were all Champagne-Aishihik members, the Old Crow people were all Vuntut Gwich'in members, the Teslin people were all Teslin Tlingit members, while the Whitehorse sample consisted of 18 ChampagneAishihik, 8 Vuntut Gwich'in and 11 Teslin Tlingit people, which represented 15-30% of each band's Whitehorse households. The participation rate was 79% of those randomly selected and actually contacted by the interviewers. There is no reason to believe that the 19 non-respondents, nor the 19 who could not be contacted differed in any way from the respondents. Demographic characteristics of the participants have been described elsewhere (7). Briefly participants ranged in age from 19 to 96 years, with the majority being 25-49 years. (A few elderly persons with memory difficulties recognized by the community were excluded from the sampling frame: the person age 96 years however, was clearly able to recall.) About 2/3 of respondents were female, and l/3 male. Demographic characteristics were similar among the communities, although Whitehorse participants tended to be younger, with more years of formal education, and more likely to list employment as their major source of income. Old Crow participants were most likely to report a hunter/trapper/ fisherman in the household. Some differences in daily nutrient intakes among locations are apparent (Table 1). Old Crow people had greater intakes (pcO.05) of protein, cholesterol, iron, zinc, riboflavin, and vitamin B12, while percent energy from fat and polyunsaturated fat intakes were lower than elsewhere. Whitehorse people had the highest (pcO.05) intakes of dietary fibre, potassium, folate and vitamin C. Teslin people had the highest (~~0.05) intakes of vitamin D. Both Teslin and Whitehorse people had higher (~~0.05) intakes of vitamin A than other communities.

NUTRIENT INTAKE

The types and frequencies of consumption of traditional foods have been reported in detail elsewhere (6,7). Table 2 summarizes those reported most often in daily recalls, and shows the predominance of cooked moose and caribou meat.

TABLE Nutrients

1

in Daily Diets of Yukon First Nation (mean f. S.D.)

Nutrient

Haines Junction (n=28)

Energy,

kcal 1625 MJ 6.8 Protein, g 64 Fat, g 65 Saturated fatty acids, g 21 Monunsaturated fatty acids, g 24 Polyunsaturated fatty acids, g 14 Cholesterol, mg 251 Carbohydrate, g 189 Sugar, g 95 Starch, g 88 % Energy from protein 16 % Energy from fat 36 % Energy from carbohydrate 46 Dietary fibre, g 8

+ + + +

Calcium, mg Phosphorus, mg Potassium, mg Iron, mg Zinc, mg

+ + + + +

458 904 1607 12.2 8.1

Vitamin A, R.E. Thiamin, mg Riboflavin, mg Preformed niacin, mg Vitamin B6, mg Folate, mcg Vitamin B12, mcg Vitamin C, mg Vitamin D, mcg a,b,c - Means significantly

455 1.9 22a 23

Old Crow (n=31) 1703 7.2 88 63

+ + + +

563 2.4 33b 28

Adults

Teslin (n=26) 1644 6.9 79 69

+ + + +

404 1.7 30 23

by Location

Whitehorse (n=37) 1815 7.6 76 74

+ + + +

616 2.6 29 28

* 7

25 + 12

25 + 8

26 + 11

+ 8

23 f: 11

27 + 9

27 + 11

+ + + + +

8a 147a 71 63 39

8 424 196 92 95

+ + + + +

4b 192b 61 43 33

11 315 179 85 92

+ + + + +

4a 132a 53 37 25

14 324 212 100 107

+ + * + +

6a 150a 86 55 42

+ 5a

21 f. 5b

19 + 4

17 + 4a

+ 8a

33 + 6b

38 + 7a

37 + 7a

+ 9 + 4a

46 + 5 8 + 6a

44 + 9 9+3

46 + 8 11 + 4b

285 336 639a 4.6a 3.7a

454 1130 1653 17.8 12.6

+ + + + +

175 358 668a 7.5b 5.6b

644 + 320 0.8 + 0.3a 1.2 + 0.5a

563 + 263a 1.1 + 0.4b 2.2 + 0.9b

17 1.0 85 6 47 3.7

19 1.2 99 12 51 2.3

+ + + + + +

6 0.5 33a 5a 36a 3.2

+ + + + + +

8 0.4 44a 7b 57a 1.6a

470 1012 1843 13.8 9.7

& + + 2 +

235 566 + 311 352 1104 + 402 698a 2205 + 712b 5.0a 14.4 + 5.0a 3.4a 9.9 + 4.4a

861 + 446b 1.0 + 0.3 1.5 + 0.6a

822 + 38833 1.2 & 0.4b 1.4 + 0.6a

18 1.2 110 8 78 4.4

18 1.3 144 5 120 3.0

+ * + + + +

7 0.4 44a 5a 63a 3.5b

+ + & + + +

6 0.4 77b 4a 99b 2.2

with different letters are statistically different, ~~0.05, Student-Newman-Keuls range test.

E.E. WEIN

1110

TABLE Most

Frequent

Traditional

Foods

2 in 381 Daily

Food

Total

Moose meat, cooked Caribou meat, cooked Moose broth Salmon, cooked (all species combined) Salmon, dried (all species combined) Whitefish, cooked Moose fat Moose dry meat Caribou broth Low bush cranberries Blueberries Caribou dry meat Caribou fat * Other foods (species, organs, other parts fewer than six times are not shown.

Food Recalls

Frequency*

148 93 21 24

18

16 15 14 13 10 9 7 6 or forms)

reported

Traditional foods provided about 17% of daily energy, but greater proportions of many nutrients (Table 3). For example, 50% or more of daily protein, zinc, iron, riboflavin, niacin and virtually all vitamin B12 came from traditional foods. About 45% of daily cholesterol and vitamin B6, and about one-third of phosphorus and vitamin D came from traditional foods. Compared to other locations, the proportion of nutrients from traditional foods was lower in Whitehorse; nevertheless it remained a substantial proportion of the daily total. Cholesterol from traditional foods appeared high in Haines Junction: however, this is misleading if considered alone, since this community obtained on average only 251 mg cholesterol per day (Table 1). Fat from traditional foods was highest in Haines Junction (Table 3), primarily because this community most often reported moose fat as a separate food item. Daily energy intakes appeared low (Table 4) in comparison the RNI, which is based on average energy intakes in the US Low energy intakes increase the likelihood that population. intakes of other nutrients will also be low.

to

Despite the low energy intakes, men's mean daily intakes of protein, phosphorus, iron, zinc, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins B6, B12, and C exceeded the RN1 (25) (Table 5). Mean vitamin D intake was satisfactory for all but older men, for whom Men obtained more energy from fat than the RN1 is higher. recommended, and cholesterol intakes exceeded the 300 mg Men's mean intake of calcium, folate and recommended limit. vitamin A fell below the recommendations.

NUTRIENT INTAKE

TABLE Percentage

of Daily Nutrients

Nutrient n/N' Energy Protein Fat Saturated fatty acids Monounsaturated fatty acids Polvunsaturated fatty acids Cholesterol Carbohydrate Sugar Starch Dietary fibre Calcium Phosphorus Potassium Iron Zinc Vitamin A Thiamin Riboflavin Niacin Vitamin B6 Folate Vitamin B12' Vitamin C Vitamin D

1111

3

from Traditional

Foods Teslin

(mean)

Entire sample (103/122)

Haines Junction (22/28)

Old Crow (31/31)

(24/26)

Whitehorse (26/37)

17 58 16

19 61 21

19 57 17

18 64 13

14 51 14

12

17

l?

10

8

11

14

13

11

7

9

7 57 1 1 0 1

14 38 2 3 1 2

10 42 il 1 0 1

42 <1
34 27 50 53

11 34 26 52 49

7 36 36 48 59

5 37 30 54 55

12 29 17 47 42

13 22 51 50 43 11 126 8 35

17 24 57 46 40 11 168 9 12

15 28 52 54 52 14 94 13 48

15 14 46 57 49 13 125 10 47

8 19 40 42 27 8 136 4 30

44 1 1 0 1 9

9

1. Number of persons who consumed at least one traditional food on any recall day / total participants 2. Exceeded 100% because mean daily intake by traditional food consumers exceeded that of all participants. TABLE Daily Energy

Intakes Mean

Men 19-24 years (n=7) Men 25-49 years (n=28) Men 50+ (n=lO) Women 19-24 years (n=4) Women 25-49 years (n=58) Women 50+ years (n=15)

8.9 9.1 6.4 7.5 6.6 5.2

4 (MJ) by Age Group Median 8.2 8.8 6.2 7.0 6.2 4.9

Minimum 5.9 5.2 3.9 6.6 4.0 3.2

Maximum 16.8 13.9 8.3 9.5 9.8 9.5

E.E. WEIN

1112

TABLE Nutrient

Intakes

of Yukon

Indian Men and Women (mean + S.D.)

Men Per Day Energy,

Kcal MJ

Protein, g Fat, g Saturated fatty acids Monounsaturated fatty acids Polyunsaturated fatty acids Cholesterol, mg Carbohydrate, g Sugar, g Starch, g Dietary fibre, g % Energy from protein % Energy from fat % Energy from carbohydrate

2007 8.4 95 81

5

f. 616 + 2.6 + 33 + 31

(n=45) Per MJ

12 + 3 10 + 2

per Day and per MJ

Women Per Day 1531 6.4 66 61

+ z + z

371 1.6 22 19

(n=77) Per MJ

10 + 3 952

28 + 13

3+1

22 + 7

421

31 + 12

4+1

22 + 7

3+1

14 382 223 99 117 11

+ + + + + +

7 191 81 54 36 5

2+1 46 + 21 26 + 4 12 + 5 14 f. 3 150

10 + 301 + 179 + 90 + 84 + 854

5 145 59 48 31

19 + 6 36 + 7

17 + 4 36 & 7

44 + 7

47 + 8

2+1 47 + 28 + 14 + 13 + 1+0

21 5 5 4

Calcium, mg Phosphorus, mg Potassium, mg Iron, mg Zinc, mg

566 1250 2204 17.6 12.7

+ 270 + 415 f. 742 + 7.1 + 5.5

68 151 267 2.1 1.5

+ 28 + 34 f. 73 + 0.7 + 0.5

450 925 1644 12.9 8.6

+ + + * +

248 285 620 4.3 3.2

68 144 257 2.0 1.4

+ + + + +

Vitamin A, R.E. Thiamin, mg Riboflavin, mg Niacin, mg Vitamin B6, mg Vitamin B12, mcg Folate, mcg Vitamin C, mg Vitamin D, mcg

870 1.2 1.9 22.2 1.4 9.8 131 87 3.9

+ + + + + + + + &

109 0.2 0.2 2.7 0.2 1.2 16 10 0.5

+ 51 + 0.0 + 0.1 &- 0.7 + 0.0 + 0.9 + 6 + 9 + 0.3

639 0.9 1.4 15.7 1.0 6.5 101 71 2.9

+ + + + + + + + +

342 0.3 0.6 5.1 0.3 5.4 59 75 2.9

100 0.1 0.2 2.5 0.2 1.1 16 11 0.4

f. 48 + 0.0 + 0.1 + 0.6 + 0.0 + 1.3 + 9 5 10 + 0.4

389 0.4 0.9 7.3 0.5 6.7 54 78 2.2

27 30 73 0.6 0.4

Despite low mean energy intakes, women's mean daily intakes of protein, phosphorus, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins B6, B12 and C exceeded the RNI, while iron and zinc just met the RN1 (Table 5). Mean vitamin D intake was satisfactory for all but older women, for whom the RN1 is higher. Women obtained more energy from fat than recommended, however, mean cholesterol intakes met the 300 mg recommended limit. Women's mean daily intakes of calcium, folate and vitamin A failed to meet the RNI.

NUTRIENT INTAKE

1113

In terms of the percentage of persons at risk of inadequate daily intakes, the nutrients of greatest concern were folate and calcium, vitamins A and D, and to a lesser extent, zinc and vitamin C (Table 6). In general, more women than men, and more older than younger adults were at risk of inadequate intakes. The low energy intakes contributed to the high proportion of persons at risk. When calculated on a nutrient density basis however, the proportion at risk was much lower (Table 7).

TABLE Percentage Nutrient

of Persons

Total (n=122)

Folate Calcium Vitamin A Vitamin D Zinc Vitamin C Thiamin Riboflavin Iron Protein Vitamin B12 1. al,

81 67 53 40 31 23 15 14 11 9 1

6

At Risk of Inadequate Intakes'

Men

Women

(n=45) 77 61 46 28 32 22 13 13 2 5 0

(n=77)

Young 19-24 yr (n=ll)

83 70 57 46 29 24 17 14 16 11 2

80 67 40 18 35 18 24 22 11 13 0

Daily Nutrient Middle 25-49 yr (n=86) 76 62 49 36 24 14 11 11 12 6 1

Older 50+ yr (n=25) 99 86 70 63 52 59 28 19 7 18 0

Estimated accordina to the orobabilitv method of Anderson 1982, as described-by Gibson (9), using the 1990 RNI. TABLE Percentage

Nutrient

Folate Calcium Vitamin D Vitamin A Vitamin C Zinc Thiamin Riboflavin Phosphorus

of Persons

Total (n=122) 39 34 32 26 11 3 2 1 1

with Intakes per MJ

Men (n=45) 44 24 18 22 4 4 0 0 0

7

Women (n=77) 36 40 40 28 16 3 4 1 1

per MJ less than 2/3 RN1 Young (n=ll) 45 9 9 18 0 0 0 0 0

Middle (n=86)

Older (n=25)

24 32 32 24 7 4 2 1 1

88 52 40 36 32 4 4 0 0

et

E.E. WEIN

1114

DISCUSSION Sample Since the groups were randomly selected, sufficiently large, and included urban and rural members of each band, they can be considered typical of the membership of the three participating First Nations. Furthermore, since the latter encompass three language and cultural groups and four locations, including the distinct north/south and remote/urban contrasts, the results could be considered typical of a broad range of Yukon Indian people. Daily Energy

and Nutrient

Intakes

The accuracy of recall methods is influenced by respondents' The use ability to remember, as well as the interviewer's skill. of trained interviewers and food models improves ability to recall items and to describe portion sizes (9,lO). Repeating the recall in each season ensured that the mean daily intake covered seasonal variation and was a closer approximation to the individual's usual diet than a single day's recall would be. Repeated recalls per individual also minimize the effect of dayto-day variation within an individual's diet (10). Energy intakes were low: this suggests the possibility that selected foods or beverages were underreported, or that there was consistent under-reporting across all foods and beverages. Recent studies show that self-reported records tend to underestimate food intake, when compared to measures of energy expenditure (27, 28). In the Nutrition Canada survey, however, energy intakes of Indian people were consistently lower than those of non-native Canadians in all age and sex groups except very young children (29). In absence of any measure of energy expenditure or anthropometry in this study, it is not possible to assess the adequacy of these energy intakes. With low energy intakes, however, it is more difficult to achieve the recommended intakes of many other nutrients, since the diet must be more nutrient dense to accomplish this. Mean daily intakes of energy and many nutrients were lower than those reported for native adults of Alaska (30). Energy intakes were also lower than those of Cree and Chipewyan adults of the Wood Buffalo National Park area (31), but similar to those of native women of northern Alberta (32) and native women and older adults of northern Manitoba (33-35). Intakes of protein and most B-vitamins exceeded recommendations for the majority of respondents, similar to the studies above. Iron intakes were generally higher than among women in northern Alberta and Manitoba, and Alaskan native people. The nutrients of concern in regard to inadequate intakes, namely folate, calcium, vitamins A and D and zinc, however, were similar to those reported in other studies of aboriginal Canadians. Folate and vitamin A intakes should be interpreted with caution, because the analytical methodologies used to obtain food values for these nutrients are considered inadequate (36). With vitamin A the limitation is in analysis of provitamin carotenes,

NUTRIENT INTAKE

1115

which are obtained from plant foods (36). Traditional plant foods, however, were infrequently consumed, compared to meats and fish. Since even the mean intakes of folate and vitamin A were substantially below the recommendations, increased consumption of foods rich in these nutrients would be appropriate among this population group. Differences

in Nutrient

Intakes

among the Locations

The high intakes of protein, percentage of energy from protein, iron, zinc, thiamin, riboflavin and vitamin BI2 in Old Crow relative to other locations reflects the heavy dependence upon meat, especially caribou, and to a lesser extent moose, in this remote community in the northern Yukon (6,7). Percent energy from fat was lowest in this community, reflecting the leanness of wild game meat. High cholesterol intakes in Old Crow are due to frequent use of store-bought eggs, particularly for breakfast. Low intakes of vitamins C and D reflect the limited use of fruits and vegetables, and of dairy products, respectiveSince all marketed food in Old Crow comes by air from ly. Whitehorse, food costs are extremely high (8); a recent federal survey of Arctic and sub-arctic communities reported that Old Crow had the highest food costs in all of Canada (37). Many people in Old Crow commented that they couldn't afford to buy much from the store. Berries and wild greens provide some vitamin C (23) and probably folate; fish bones provide some calcium, while fish livers and eggs provide some vitamin A and D. These foods alone, however, are not available in sufficient quantity to meet daily nutrient needs. Compared to the other locations, the high mean daily intakes of potassium, folate, and vitamin C in Whitehorse result from greater use of marketed fruits and vegetables. Of the four locations, Whitehorse has the greatest variety of and lowest prices for marketed foods (8). Furthermore, Whitehorse participants as a group were younger, had spent more years in school, and were more often employed than persons in the other communities. Thus they had available and were able to purchase a wider range of foods, especially fruits and vegetables. The high intakes of vitamins A and D in Teslin relative to other locations does not appear to be due to differences in frequency of consumption of traditional foods. Rather it may reflect greater use of dairy products in this community. Traditional foods provide a substantial proportion of daily nutrient intakes, particularly of protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12, while their contribution to daily fat intake is small. Compared to beef, moose and caribou meats are quite lean, yet according to USDA (19) the latter two contain cholesterol within the same range as beef round steak and ground beef (18). Furthermore, in building the nutrient database, imputing cholesterol values from beef organs and fat for those unavailable for moose and caribou organs and fat also contributed to the proportion of cholesterol which came from traditional Clearly there is a need to analyze organs, fat, and other foods. parts of traditional animal, bird and fish species, as well as to

1116

E.E. WEIN

analyze traditional plants to provide better nutrient data for use in dietary studies, especially for fatty acids, cholesterol, vitamins A, D, and folate. Although wild berries, other plants, fish bones, fish livers and eggs are sources of the nutrients in short supply, it appears that these foods alone are not consumed often enough (due to limited availability) to meet daily recommended intakes, and that additional fruits, vegetables and some dairy products are needed. Nevertheless, traditional foods remain an important part of contemporary diets of Yukon aboriginal people, in terms of nutrient sources, as well as for social, cultural, and economic reasons.

CONCLUSIONS Among Yukon Indian people in four communities, calculated nutrient intakes indicate that total fat intake is high, and many adults are at risk of inadequate intakes of folate, calcium, vitamins A, D, C and zinc. More men than women, and more older than younger adults are at risk in respect to these nutrients. Mean daily intakes of most nutrients associated with lean meat Traditional food sources met or exceeded recommendations. account for at least half of daily intakes of protein, vitamin B12, iron, zinc, riboflavin, and niacin. Nutrients associated mainly with lean meat were generally consumed in highest amounts in the most remote village, while nutrients associated mainly with fruits, vegetables and dairy products were consumed in highest amounts in the city. Traditional foods continue to be important contributors to daily nutrient intakes in Yukon aboriginal diets. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Sincere thanks are extended to all the study participants, the interviewers, and the chief and councils of the ChampagneAishihik, Teslin Tlingit and Vuntut Gwich'in First Nations for their patience and support of the study. Financial assistance for two years was provided by a post-doctoral fellowship to the investigator from the National Institute of Nutrition. Funding also came from the bands for proposal development, from Yukon Health for payment of interviewers, from Health and Welfare Canada for accommodation in the communities, and from the author's university for northern travel expenses. Dr. M.M.R. Freeman kindly served as post-doctoral supervisor.

NUTRIENT INTAKE

1117

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Wein, EE. Yukon First Nations Food and Nutrition Study. Report to the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, the Teslin Tlingit Council, the Vuntut Gwich'in First Nation, the Yukon Dep't of Health, and the National Institute of Nutrition. Edmonton: Can. Circumpolar Inst., Univ. of Alberta, 1994.

7.

Wein, EE, Freeman, MMR. Frequency of traditional food use by three Yukon First Nations living in four communities. Arctic (In press).

8.

Wein, EE. four Yukon

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Cameron, ME, van Staveren WA (ed). Manual on Methodology for Food Consumption Studies. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1988.

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Gibson, RS. York: Oxford

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Health and Welfare Canada. Canadian Nutrient File, 1988. Ottawa: Health and Welfare Canada, 1988.

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