Consumption of key food items is associated with excess weight among elementary-school-aged children in a Canadian first nations community

The present analyses aim to identify differences in selected dimensions of diet quality and quantity across body mass index (BMI) categories for Mohawk children in grades 4 through 6 so as to enhance ongoing community intervention strategies within the Kahnawake School Diabetes Prevention Project (KSDPP). Using 24-hour recalls (n = 444), no observable differences in energy intake, percent fat, energy density, or diet diversity across BMI categories were observed. Using a new method, we compared the frequency of use and the amounts consumed for only the most-frequently consumed food items across BMI categories. Compared to normal-weight children, and after adjusting for age, children at risk of overweight consume potato chips more frequently (P=0.017) and crackers less frequently (P=0.153), while overweight children consumed larger portions of french fries (P=0.027). We conclude that, in this group of children, consuming slightly more french fries or potato chips than what is already consumed by normal-weight children appears to compromise diet quality as far as overweight is concerned.