Public Health Nutrition: 13(9), 1430–1437 doi:10.1017/S1368980010000832 Associations of television viewing, physical activity and dietary behaviours with obesity in aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadian youth

Objective: To determine associations of diet, physical activity and television (TV) viewing time with obesity among aboriginal and non-aboriginal youth in conjunction with socio-economic variables. Design: Cross-sectional study of differences between aboriginal and non-aboriginal groups and associations between lifestyle and socio-economic factors with obesity were examined. Setting: Population data from the Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 2?2 conducted in 2004 in the ten provinces of Canada. Subjects: A total of 198 aboriginal and 4448 non-aboriginal Canadian youth aged 12–17 years. Results: Compared to non-aboriginal youth, physical activity participation among aboriginal youth was higher, but consumption of vegetables and dairy products was lower, and more aboriginal youth were ‘high ’ TV watchers. Low income adequacy was associated with decreased odds for obesity among aboriginal youth in contrast to higher odds among non-aboriginal youth. Non-aboriginal ‘high ’ TV watchers consumed more soft drinks and non-whole-grain products than did ‘low ’ TV watchers. Physical activity participation did not differ between ‘high ’ and ‘low ’ TV watchers for both groups, and was associated with lowered odds for obesity only among aboriginal youth. Conclusions: Sociodemographic and lifestyle risk factors associated with obesity differ between aboriginal and non-aboriginal youth. These findings may be useful for guiding intervention efforts