CMAJ article links hunger in residential schools to Type 2 diabetes, obesity – CBC

‘We need to start looking at hunger in residential schools as a real predictor of long-term health problems’

Aug 13, 2017

Widespread, prolonged hunger that existed in residential schools is a contributing factor in the disproportionate health issues facing many Indigenous people, such as diabetes and obesity, according to an article published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

“Hunger is really central to the experiences of residential school survivors,” says Ian Mosby who co-authored the article with Tracy Galloway, both with the University of Toronto.

They say childhood malnutrition experienced in many government-funded schools is contributing to the higher risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease among Indigenous people in adulthood.

Read More: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/residential-school-hunger-disease-1.4244432