title: Dietary patterns of Akwesasne Mohawk adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Native American youth have greater rates of overweight/obesity than same-aged youth from the general population. Even though dietary shifts are suspected, surprisingly little information exists concerning the dietary patterns of contemporary Native American adolescents.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study examines the dietary composition of Native American adolescents residing in upstate New York at the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. The goal of this investigation is to assess the food patterns of Akwesasne adolescents via a total diet approach. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING AND METHODS: The sample is comprised of 246 Mohawk adolescents between the ages of 10-16.9 years of age residing at the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. Food frequency data was collected from adolescents via interview during a cross-sectional study investigating their exposure to environmental pollutants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nutrient-dilute but energy-dense foods characterize most of the top 10 dietary sources of energy, carbohydrates, and fat. Although micronutrient intakes are by and large adequate in the sample, micronutrients are most often derived from highly fortified food sources. Adolescent diets contain few naturally-occurring sources of many micronutrients, especially folate and iron. A narrow variety of foods dominate the top dietary sources across both macronutrient and micronutrients, strongly suggesting the need for increased dietary diversity within this age group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University at Albany , 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222 , USA .
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ravenscroft
authors.forename: Lawrence M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Schell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D008297:Male; D009518:New York; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescents; Native Americans; diet composition; environmental contamination