The education group experienced a significant weight loss and decrease in body mass index (BMI) from baseline to completion. The usual care group had no change in weight or BMI. There were no between group differences due to intervention in energy, carbohydrate, protein and fat intake and physical activity.
Writing in the article, Kendra K. Kattelmann, PhD, RD, Professor and Director, Didactic Program in Dietetics, Nutrition, Food Science and Hospitality Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings, states, “A diet patterned after the historical hunter-gatherer type diet, or even the early reservation diet (with the higher proportion of energy being supplied from protein), may provide better blood glucose control and lower the circulating insulin levels in Northern Plains Indians with type 2 diabetes. Tribal leaders are interested in preserving the history of their food patterns and embrace the development of educational tools depicting their historical consumption patterns. This trial is one of the first studies reported that attempts to measure the influence of the traditional Northern Plains Indians diet on control of type 2 diabetes.”
In a commentary, Jamie Stang, PhD, MPH, RD, LN, Chair of the Public Health Nutrition Program at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, cites some of the dietary challenges faced by the American Indian population. “Limited access to grocery stores that offer low fat, low sugar or whole grain food products and a variety of fruits and vegetables is the most frequently cited barrier to healthy eating…The loss of hunting and fishing rights, unavailability of traditional foods such as wild game, loss of traditional agriculture due to water scarcity and poor soil condition and loss of traditional ways of procuring and preparing foods have also been identified as reasons for poor food choices. Many urban American Indians live in neighborhoods that lack large, well-stocked grocery stores which limits their availability of healthful foods…Even the most culturally competent, evidence-based programs cannot improve eating behaviors among individuals or populations who live and work in an environment that does not support or provide healthy food choices.”
The article is “The Medicine Wheel Nutrition Intervention: A Diabetes Education Study with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe” by Kendra K. Kattelmann, PhD, RD; Kibbe Conti, MS, RD; Cuirong Ren, PhD. The commentary is “Improving Health among American Indians through Environmentally-focused Nutrition Interventions” by Jamie Stang, PhD, MPH, RD, LN. Both appear in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 109 Issue 9 (September 2009), published by Elsevier.
Journal references:
- Kendra K. Kattelmann, Kibbe Conti, Cuirong Ren. The Medicine Wheel Nutrition Intervention: A Diabetes Education Study with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2009; 109 (9): 1532 DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2009.06.362
- Jamie Stang. Improving Health among American Indians through Environmentally-Focused Nutrition Interventions. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2009; 109 (9): 1528 DOI:10.1016/j.jada.2009.06.371
