Obesity, Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Among Canadian First Nations Youth: An Exploration of Associated Factors and Evaluation of a School Sports Program

• Main Author: Gates, Michelle
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Waterloo 2015
• Subjects: Aboriginal; Indigenous; youth; health; obesity; physical activity; physical fitness; Sedentary; First Nations; Subarctic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10012/10157

Background: Secondary to inequities in several determinants of health, Canadian Aboriginal youth are affected by a higher prevalence rate of obesity and chronic disease than the general population. While the factors contributing to obesity have been extensively studied among the general population, relatively little data are available for First Nations [FN] youth living on reserve. This dissertation will focus on two risk factors, physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour, amenable to change via community-level health promotion initiatives. Purpose: To (a) review quantitative evidence on physical activity [PA], fitness and sedentary behaviour among Canadian Aboriginal youth, (b) explore the potential relationships of socioeconomic, cultural and health behavioural factors with overweight/obesity among FN youth living on reserve, (c) explore the potential relationships of socioeconomic, cultural and health-related factors with high (>1.5 hours/day) levels of television viewing among FN youth living on reserve, (d) conduct a needs assessment for PA programming in one subarctic Ontario FN, and (e) evaluate the implementation and outcomes of a school sport program in this community. Methods: In Study 1, a systematic review of peer-reviewed quantitative research on the PA and fitness of Canadian Aboriginal youth was conducted. The studies, which also described sedentary behaviours, were summarized and the results were presented according to adherence to Canadian guidelines, age and sex differences, and associations with health outcomes. Studies 2 and 3 used data collected for the 12-17 year old subset of the 2008-2010 First Nations Regional Health Survey [RHS]. The relationships between a number of independent variables and (a) overweight/obesity or (b) high television viewing were assessed using logistic regression, stratified by age and sex. Analyses were weighted to account for the sampling strategy. Studies 4 and 5 responded to a subarctic Ontario FN community’s desire for school-based sport programming. A ...