Abstract
Objective
To describe a community-based obesity-prevention initiative that promoted cultural
connectedness and traditional food revitalization and gained insight into youth participants’
perspectives on the program through a photovoice methodology.
Methods
Photovoice methods were used with fourth- and fifth-grade youths (aged 9–11 years)
in the US Southwest who had participated in the Feast for the Future program. A total of 44 youths from 3 communities met for 8–9 sessions; they took
photos of current food environments and traditional food systems, and discussed them
as well as Feast for the Future and hopes for the future, and then prepared a final presentation. Photovoice sessions
were recorded, transcribed verbatim, then open coded using Atlas.ti.
Results
Five common themes emerged: traditional food is farmed or gardened, traditional foods
are healthy, Feast for the Future supported positive connections to culture, hope for more farming or gardening for
future generations, and store or less nutrient-dense food is unhealthy.
Conclusions and Implications
Photovoice can be an effective way to engage Indigenous youths in conversations about
their culture and food environments. The findings suggest that attention to revitalizing
traditional food systems and supporting cultural connectedness may be an effective
approach to obesity prevention in tribal communities, although future research would
be needed to assess the impact of the intervention on obesity rates.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 13, 2020
Accepted:
November 18,
2019
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors have not stated any conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
