%0 Journal Article
%T Diet, Physical Activity, and Obesity in School-Aged Indigenous Youths in Northern Australia
%A Patricia C. Valery
%A Torukiri Ibiebele
%A Mark Harris
%A Ad¨¨le C. Green
%A Andrew Cotterill
%A Aletia Moloney
%A Ashim K. Sinha
%A Gail Garvey
%J Journal of Obesity
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/893508
%X Purpose. To examine the relationship between diet, physical activity, and obesity in Indigenous youths from northern Australia. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, physical activity and dietary intake (“short nutrition questionnaire”) were assessed among all youths during a face-to-face interview. For 92 high school youths, additional dietary information was assessed using a food-frequency questionnaire. Height and weight were measured and BMI was calculated. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess associations. Results. Of the 277 youths included, 52% had ≤2 servings of fruit and 84% had <4 servings of vegetables per day; 65% ate fish and 27%, take-away food (“fast food”) at least twice a week. One in four ate local traditional sea food including turtle and dugong (a local sea mammal) at least twice a week. Overweight/obese youths engaged in fewer days of physical activity in the previous week than normal weight youths (OR=2.52, 95% CI 1.43–4.40), though patterns of physical activity differed by sex and age (<0.001). Overweight/obese youths were 1.89 times (95% CI 1.07–3.35) more likely to eat dugong regularly than nonobese youths. Analysis of food-frequency data showed no difference by weight assessment among high-school students. Conclusions. Low fruit and vegetable intake were identified in these Indigenous youths. Regular consumption of fried dugong and low frequency of physical activity were associated with overweight/obesity reinforcing the need to devise culturally appropriate health promotion strategies and interventions for Indigenous youths aimed at improving their diet and increasing their physical activity.
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobes/2012/893508/