The global erosion of Indigenous traditional food systems across the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, Southeast Asia, and Siberia has coincided with a growing burden of diet-linked noncommunicable chronic diseases. While causal attribution remains methodologically complex due to multilevel, interacting structural determinants, the persistence of this pattern across these diverse contexts suggests a robust and non-incidental relationship.
Nutritionally complex, protein-rich traditional diets encompassing fish, game, wild plants, and seasonal whole foods have been systematically displaced by energy-dense, nutrient-poor alternatives, including refined grains, processed snacks, and sweetened beverages. Where these traditional diets have declined, metabolic conditions linked to dietary transitions—such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease—have increased. Restoring access to and sovereignty over traditional foods, along with the intergenerational transmission of foodway knowledge encompassing cultivation, preservation, and preparation practices, therefore constitutes a multidimensional intervention that serves both as cultural preservation and an evidence-based public health strategy.
Spanning four distinct geographic and cultural contexts, this collection systematically examines diet quality, access to traditional foods, and Indigenous foodways, alongside the documented health consequences of nutrition transition:
The first study employs a cross-sectional screening design with repeated seasonal measures to examine patterns of dietary transition among Indigenous peoples of North-Western Siberia and their implications for population health outcomes. Five years of data collection reveal a gradual yet consistent decline in the consumption of traditional foods, primarily reindeer meat and locally sourced fish. From 2012–2017, reindeer meat consumption fell 20–70% (9.7% annually), while fish declined 36.9–70.6% (11.5% annually). Causes driving this shift include climate change, altered seasonal migration routes, and changes in fishing patterns. As a result, communities are increasingly dependent on carbohydrate-rich foods. This dietary change is associated with rising rates of hypertension. Proposed interventions include establishing a year-round community food stock to preserve food security and population health.
The second study, a longitudinal cohort study with seasonal comparison, examines changes in traditional food intake and overall diet quality among Yup’ik communities in Southwest Alaska. Researchers collected data from two communities over a period of two years using various methods, such as a 24-hour dietary recall, nitrogen stable isotope biomarkers, and the Healthy Eating Index. The findings indicated that the types of traditional foods consumed shifted over time, moving from an emphasis on traditional foods such as fish, marine mammals, tundra greens, and berries to an increased reliance on processed, store-bought alternatives. This shift contributed to a decline in diet quality and has been linked to a higher prevalence of diet-related chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Access to traditional foods is a foundational determinant of dietary quality in Yup’ik communities. This is especially important when environmental changes in the North threaten the availability of these resources.
The third study utilizes a cross-sectional survey design with seasonal comparison to examine dietary quality and patterns of seasonal variation among the Karen in rural western Thailand. The findings reveal that they face a triple burden of malnutrition typical of transitioning Indigenous populations (overweight/obesity, undernutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies), attributed to the decline of traditional wild food (wild plant foliage, fungi species, vegetables, fruits, locally raised livestock, and small aquatic species) consumption and its replacement with packaged market foods, compounded by preparation practices that further reduce nutrient bioavailability, resulting in an inadequate intake of micronutrients (calcium, iron, zinc, and vitamins A, C, B6, and B12), with older adults showing the most pronounced nutrient inadequacies. Critically, these conditions coexist with year-round access to diverse traditional foods, demonstrating that nutritional health is shaped not only by availability but also by the broader system of cultural knowledge, preparation practices, and economic conditions that govern how traditional foods are accessed, prepared, and consumed.
The fourth study is a cross-sectional observational study that assessed the nutritional intake of Dene and Métis across nine regions of the Northwest Territories, Canada, between 2016 and 2018. Findings indicate a dietary transition away from traditional foods toward easily digestible carbohydrates and processed foods, with a high proportion of fat (47% of intake) and low intake of fruit and vegetables, resulting in significantly low levels of vitamin D, fiber, and calcium. More than half of women of childbearing age have low levels of folate, zinc, vitamin B12, and iron. This raises serious concerns for the health of mothers and their children—a call for targeted nutrition and health promotion programs to address food security in the region.
