title: Eating habits of a population undergoing a rapid dietary transition: portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods and beverages consumed by Inuit adults in Nunavut, Canada.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To determine the portion sizes of traditional and non-traditional foods being consumed by Inuit adults in three remote communities in Nunavut, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was carried out between June and October, 2008. Trained field workers collected dietary data using a culturally appropriate, validated quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) developed specifically for the study population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caribou, muktuk (whale blubber and skin) and Arctic char (salmon family), were the most commonly consumed traditional foods; mean portion sizes for traditional foods ranged from 10 g for fermented seal fat to 424 g for fried caribou. Fried bannock and white bread were consumed by >85% of participants; mean portion sizes for these foods were 189 g and 70 g, respectively. Sugar-sweetened beverages and energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods were also widely consumed. Mean portion sizes for regular pop and sweetened juices with added sugar were 663 g and 572 g, respectively. Mean portion sizes for potato chips, pilot biscuits, cakes, chocolate and cookies were 59 g, 59 g, 106 g, 59 g, and 46 g, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study provides further evidence of the nutrition transition that is occurring among Inuit in the Canadian Arctic. It also highlights a number of foods and beverages that could be targeted in future nutritional intervention programs aimed at obesity and diet-related chronic disease prevention in these and other Inuit communities.
authors.affiliation: School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sheehy
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roache
authors.forename: Sangita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D001628:Beverages; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D004930:Inuit; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D008875:Middle Aged; D020957:Nunavut / Q000453:epidemiology; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control; D044382:Population Groups; D064787:Portion Size; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult