The life course "connection": A psycho-social exploration of women's dietary choices in a northern First Nations community

Abstract

The high incidence of obesity and obesity related diseases have been well-documented within First Nations communities across Canada. Therefore, examining current dietary choices and then altering and managing alternative healthier choices are essential in the treatment of obesity and its related diseases. The present article describes a dietary study looking specifically at the dietary choices of women living in a First Nation's community in northwestern Ontario. An ethnography was conducted over a three-week period in which the researcher attended community events and interviewed twenty six women. Experiences in women's lives led them on different life courses. Family involvement and age of women influenced transmission of informal knowledge and feelings of self worth. These and other factors influenced the life course and the resultant "dietary trajectory" from which women made choice. Considering individuals in changing social, cultural and historical climates deemed the life course perspective applicable in this study. Findings suggest that solutions to the "health epidemic" can be found by looking to the women in the community who are making nutritious choices. From this point, formal and informal programs that facilitate reintroduction of traditional knowledge into lives of younger community members can be developed.