Dana Lee Olstad, Associate Professor PhD RD

Dept of Community Health Sciences
University of Calgary

Trends in diet quality and intake of ultra-processed foods according to Indigenous status and race/ethnicity in nationally representative samples of adults in Canada

The traditional cultural food practices of Indigenous people and adults from racial/ethnic minority groups may be eroded in the current food system where nutrient-poor and ultra-processed foods (UPF) are the most affordable and normative options, and where experiences of racism may promote unhealthy dietary patterns. A small number of nationally representative studies have examined differences and trends in diet quality and UPF intake by race/ethnicity in the US, however such studies have not yet been conducted in Canada. Moreover, prior studies in the US provided data for just 3-4 racial/ethnic groups and did not quantify intakes among Indigenous people, thereby precluding a more comprehensive understanding of the dietary patterns of adults from multiple cultural groups and trends over time. These prior studies also did not quantify absolute or relative dietary gaps or trends in these gaps over time. This presentation will describe a recent study in which we quantified absolute and relative gaps in the diet quality and UPF intake of nationally representative samples of adults in Canada according to Indigenous status and race/ethnicity, and trends in these gaps between 2004 and 2015. Objectives include: 1) Understand how diet quality and UPF intake are patterned by Indigenous status and race/ethnicity in Canada; and 2) Understand trends in diet quality and UPF intake according to Indigenous status and race/ethnicity in Canada between 2004 and 2015.

Speaker/Chair Bio:

Dr. Dana Olstad is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary and a Registered Dietitian. She is recognized for expertise in the role of policy in reducing socioeconomic inequities in diet quality and health. Dr. Olstad has been at the forefront of leveraging AI and other advanced analytical techniques to comprehensively document trajectories of dietary inequities in Canada, their impact on the health of marginalized groups, and the mechanisms that undergird these associations. Moreover, she is one of few researchers internationally who are leading RCTs to test the impact of novel policy interventions to reduce food insecurity and dietary and health inequities. She has received several awards for her research achievements, including the 2022 CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes/Canadian Nutrition Society Early Career Researcher Partnership Prize.