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Compendium
Compendium
Chapter 4
Shedding Light on the Connections between Diet, Metabolic Health and Food Insecurity in the North
Abstract

The interconnection between nutrition, human health and culture has been appreciated for centuries. Traditional country food hunted, fished, and gathered from the land have been a pillar of Inuit health. However, nutrition transition and food insecurity have been noted in Arctic communities posing danger to the health and well-being of their inhabitants (Egeland et al., 2011). In Inuit Nunangat, 76% of Inuit aged 15 and over reported experiencing food insecurity (ITK, 2021). A disparity in access to water services has also been noted across the Arctic, contributing to water insecurity (Sohns et al., 2019). Access to safely managed drinking water services and nutritious food remains challenging for millions of people living in the circumpolar Arctic (Cassivi et al., 2022).

Keywords: Traditional foods, Western diet, Gut microbiome, Gut-brain axis, Metabolic health, Endocannabinoidome, Food environment, Water security