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Changing diets and traditional lifestyle of Siberian Arctic Indigenous Peoples and effects on health and well-being

  • Siberian Environmental Change
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Abstract

The diet of Indigenous Peoples of North-Western Siberia is characterized by a significant proportion of traditional foods. Eating local products provides a ready-made set of macro- and microelements necessary for life in the challenging conditions of the Arctic. Currently, high consumption of traditional foods is typical in the season of fishing or reindeer slaughter, while out of season the consumption of easily digestible carbohydrates increases. Due to climate change, seasonal fishing and traditional migration routes are disrupted and, therefore, the consumption of traditional foods is decreasing. During 5 years of expeditions, we performed a cross-sectional screening of 985 Indigenous People from three districts of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. We analyzed the seasonality of acquisition and consumption of local reindeer and fish products and studied the traditional food storage among 90 Indigenous fishermen and hunters, who exploit cryostorage. As diet affects health, we studied the benefits of local food. The duration of the consumption season is decreasing and therefore the amount of consumption of local food is decreasing as well. This has adverse effects on health with increasing hypertension dissemination. The creation of stocks of fish and reindeer meat in villages and their year-round sale to the population is a necessary step for ensuring the food security and health of the inhabitants in the region.

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Acknowledgments

Andrey Lobanov and Olga Shaduyko (Morozova) are grateful for the support from the Tomsk State University Competitiveness Improvement Programme. They also would like to thank Terry V Callaghan for his valuable ideas and advice. Authors also express their gratitude to the research infrastructure “System of experimental stations located along the latitudinal gradient” for fruitful cooperation (http://ckp-rf.ru/usu/586718/; http://www.secnet.online/megaustanovka-ru.html).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Medical Research Center for Rehabilitation and Balneology of the Ministry of Health of Russia, 32, Novy Arbat Street, Moscow, Russia, 121099

    Sergey Andronov, Andrey Lobanov & Anatoliy Fesyun

  2. Scientific centre of Arctic research, 20 Republic street, Salekhard, Russia, 629008

    Andrey Popov & Lilia Lobanova

  3. Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

    Ying Luo

  4. Tomsk State University, 36 Lenina Pr, Tomsk, Russia, 634050

    Andrey Lobanov & Olga Shaduyko

  5. Institute of Humanities, Northern Arctic Federal University, 6 Captain Voronin Street, Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Region, Russia, 164500

    Elena Bogdanova

  6. Federal Research Center for Nutrition, Biotechnology and Food Safety, 2/14 Passage Ust’inskiy, Moscow, Russia, 109240

    Irina Kobel’kova

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  1. Sergey Andronov
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  9. Irina Kobel’kova
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Correspondence to Olga Shaduyko.

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Andronov, S., Lobanov, A., Popov, A. et al. Changing diets and traditional lifestyle of Siberian Arctic Indigenous Peoples and effects on health and well-being. Ambio 50, 2060–2071 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01387-9

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