Traditional food system, self-rated health, and mental wellness in Greenland
Helotie, Ida (2021)
2021
Master's Programme in Public and Global Health
Yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Social Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-06-23
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106226019
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106226019
Tiivistelmä
The Arctic is undergoing sociocultural and environmental changes that are threatening the traditional food systems of local communities. Importantly, those systems are in the heart of Indigenous cultures contributing to the health and well-being of communities and individuals. Simultaneously, traditional food of northern Indigenous peoples is associated with health concerns related to the accumulation of contaminants and unfavourable nutritional profile.
Previous research has primarily focused on the objective indicators of health in relation to traditional food systems of Greenland, whereas much less is known about the effects on subjective health and well-being. In turn, this thesis focuses on the local peoples’ own perspectives concerning their traditional food system and builds on the existing knowledge and providing an additional viewpoint on the topic. The overall aim of this thesis is to characterise the contemporary role of the traditional food system and related changes, and examine the relationship between the traditional food system, self-rated health, and mental wellness among the local people within one community in Greenland.
The data were collected as part of an international, multidisciplinary research project Nunataryuk in a form of a survey, from west coast of Greenland. A total of 100 adults participated in the study. The survey included questions related to subsistence activities, use of traditional food, their importance, and related changes observed in the community. Also, the survey provided information on the aspects of subjective health and mental wellness. The data were analysed using mainly quantitative methods, including crosstabulation and logistic regression.
The results of this thesis suggest traditional food system to still have an important role in the community where the level of traditional food consumption and reliance on subsistence activities remain high regardless of the ongoing sociocultural and environmental changes. Additionally, the traditional food system seems to contribute to the self-rated health and mental wellness of the local people. Neither the concerns over potential health risks nor the potential benefits related to traditional food consumption did come out in the results of this study. However, the subsistence activities and related changes had clearer, somewhat contradictory, impact on the subjective health and mental wellness. Hunting and fishing seemed to be beneficial in terms of mental wellness, whereas gathering was associated with lower self-rated health. In turn, a decrease in the number of berries and mushrooms was negatively associated with mental wellness.
This study provides insight of the local peoples’ own perspectives regarding the role of traditional food system and its impacts on their health and mental wellness. Further research is needed to gain deeper understanding on the matter. Moreover, these perspectives should be included in the policymaking concerning traditional food systems and related changes.
Previous research has primarily focused on the objective indicators of health in relation to traditional food systems of Greenland, whereas much less is known about the effects on subjective health and well-being. In turn, this thesis focuses on the local peoples’ own perspectives concerning their traditional food system and builds on the existing knowledge and providing an additional viewpoint on the topic. The overall aim of this thesis is to characterise the contemporary role of the traditional food system and related changes, and examine the relationship between the traditional food system, self-rated health, and mental wellness among the local people within one community in Greenland.
The data were collected as part of an international, multidisciplinary research project Nunataryuk in a form of a survey, from west coast of Greenland. A total of 100 adults participated in the study. The survey included questions related to subsistence activities, use of traditional food, their importance, and related changes observed in the community. Also, the survey provided information on the aspects of subjective health and mental wellness. The data were analysed using mainly quantitative methods, including crosstabulation and logistic regression.
The results of this thesis suggest traditional food system to still have an important role in the community where the level of traditional food consumption and reliance on subsistence activities remain high regardless of the ongoing sociocultural and environmental changes. Additionally, the traditional food system seems to contribute to the self-rated health and mental wellness of the local people. Neither the concerns over potential health risks nor the potential benefits related to traditional food consumption did come out in the results of this study. However, the subsistence activities and related changes had clearer, somewhat contradictory, impact on the subjective health and mental wellness. Hunting and fishing seemed to be beneficial in terms of mental wellness, whereas gathering was associated with lower self-rated health. In turn, a decrease in the number of berries and mushrooms was negatively associated with mental wellness.
This study provides insight of the local peoples’ own perspectives regarding the role of traditional food system and its impacts on their health and mental wellness. Further research is needed to gain deeper understanding on the matter. Moreover, these perspectives should be included in the policymaking concerning traditional food systems and related changes.