Estimated nutrient intake of urban Indigenous participants enrolled in a lifestyle intervention program

Abstract

Aim: The present study evaluates the reported nutrient intake of adult urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who participated in a medically based lifestyle intervention program. Methods: The analysis was based on dietary records from all Indigenous participants (n = 100) enrolled in a 2003–2005 prospective lifestyle intervention study that followed a cohort of overweight (body mass index > 25) participants served by the Townsville Aboriginal and Islanders Health Service, Queensland, Australia. Standardised multiple-pass 24-hour dietary recalls were collected at baseline and 12-month program completion. Changes in pre- and post-program reported intake were evaluated using a paired-sample t-test. The Mann–Whitney test was used to compare baseline intake with an age and gender-matched sample created from 1995 National Nutrition Survey data. Results: The cohort was 88% female with a mean age of 44.4 ⫾ 1.3 standard error of the mean. Dietary intake improved between baseline and program completion. At baseline, there was a high prevalence of reported intakes below the Estimated Average Requirement for vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron and zinc. Compared with the median Australian intake, the Indigenous intake was significantly higher in protein and cholesterol; however, vitamin A, vitamin C, niacin, potassium, magnesium, iron and fibre were lower. Conclusions: The present study found the intake in a cohort of Indigenous people was significantly different than the previously measured Australian nutrient intake. The nutrient patterns observed in the present study may be associated with the excess chronic disease burden experienced by Australian Indigenous populations.