Nutritious Traditions: UNBC Study of First Nations Diet and Environmental Health

Dr. Laurie Chan (Credit: UNBC)

As my grandmother would say, traditions are often here for a reason—long-established conventions often stick around because they’re good for. Attesting to grandma’s teachings, the inaugural portion of the ten-year First Nations Food, Nutrition, and Environmental Study (FNFNES) in British Columbia has been released, showing that eating traditional foods reduces obesity-related health risks in First Nations communities. This first study involved 21 B.C. First Nations communities and marks the beginning of a series of FNFNES studies to be conducted in Manitoba and Ontario in addition to British Columbia.

The study—led by the University of Northern British Columbia’s Dr. Laurie Chan—indicates the importance of access to traditional food sources such as fish, moose and berries for the nutritional health of First Nations communities. According to Chan, “many of the participants in the study reported limitations to accessing traditional foods, including governmental restrictions, forestry, hydro installations, and mining. Nearly seventy-five percent of participants also identified global warming as being a hindering factor.”

UNBC: BC Results of Study into First Nations Dietary and Environmental Health Released [University of Northern British Columbia]