Obesity studies in the circumpolar Inuit: a scoping review

Abstract

Background Among circumpolar populations, recent research has documented a significant increase in risk factors which are commonly associated with chronic disease, notably obesity. Objective The present study undertakes a scoping review of research on obesity in the circumpolar Inuit to determine the extent obesity research has been undertaken, how well all subpopulations and geographic areas are represented, the methodologies used and whether they are sufficient in describing risk factors, and the prevalence and health outcomes associated with obesity. Design Online databases were used to identify papers published 1992–2011, from which we selected 38 publications from Canada, the United States, and Greenland that used obesity as a primary or secondary outcome variable in 30 or more non-pregnant Inuit (“Eskimo”) participants aged 2 years or older. Results The majority of publications (92%) reported cross-sectional studies while 8% examined retrospective cohorts. All but one of the studies collected measured data. Overall 84% of the publications examined obesity in adults. Those examining obesity in children focused on early childhood or adolescence. While most (66%) reported 1 or more anthropometric indices, none incorporated direct measures of adiposity. Evaluated using a customized quality assessment instrument, 26% of studies achieved an “A” quality ranking, while 18 and 39% achieved quality rankings of “B” and “C”, respectively. Conclusions While the quality of studies is generally high, research on obesity among Inuit would benefit from careful selection of methods and reference standards, direct measures of adiposity in adults and children, studies of preadolescent children, and prospective cohort studies linking early childhood exposures with obesity outcomes throughout childhood and adolescence.

Prevalence of obesity among Inuit in Greenland and temporal trend by social position

“…Prospective cohort studies linking early childhood exposures and later life style with obesity are needed to identify preventable causes of obesity. This is true not only in Greenland but among the Inuit in general (Galloway et al, ).…”

Weight among children born 2005-2011 in Nuuk at the time of school entry

“…Among Inuit overweight and obesity have been documented to be an increasing problem both in adults and children. This has also been detected in Greenland during the last decades [4][5][6][7][8].…”

A Scoping Review of Obesity among Indigenous Peoples in Canada

“…After reviewers had made the final selection of articles for the scoping review, these were compared to the studies included in Kolahdooz et al's 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis [29] and Galloway et al's 2012 scoping review [30], to ensure that no studies were unwillingly excluded from the analysis. This verification confirmed that no eligible studies were left out during the selection process.…”

“…Moreover, in a 2012 scoping review of obesity studies among the circumpolar Inuit, reviewers examined methods used for measuring obesity in Inuit living in Canada, Greenland, and the United States of America and presented sex-specific prevalence of obesity as measured using body mass index (BMI) and/or waist circumference. They also reviewed the statistical associations between obesity and metabolic risk factors, diet, and socioeconomic status [30]. However, the examination of obesity distribution between and within countries was outside the scope of this review.…”