Nutrition a Pressing Concern for Native Americans, Part II
Reversing a negative trend
Editor's Note: This article is the second in a three-part series on health issues linked to nutritional problems in American Indian communities and what is being done to combat them. The first installment is available here.
Tribal communities nationwide are working to fight the trend toward obesity and its resulting health consequences.
Nutritionists such as DeWilde and Miller work with tribes to educate members about proper diet and healthier lifestyles.
In 2008, the Indian Health Service - a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services - reported almost 500 nutritionists working at the country's 561 federally recognized tribes.
Using Nutrition Assistance to Promote Healthy Foods
Some tribe nutritionists work as representatives for federal supplemental nutrition programs.
Though AI/ANs make up 1.6 percent of the U.S. population, the "Federal Food Safety Net" covers a disproportionately high percentage of this demographic. In 2010, 13 percent of the U.S. population was enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the food stamp program, whereas 24 percent of AI/AN households received SNAP benefits.