A Recipe for Disaster: Impact of extreme weather on nutrition and metabolic health, with a case study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Northern Australia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To date, the effects of extreme weather events (EWEs) on specific nutrients within the population’s diet have not been quantified. With climate change projected to increase the severity of extreme weather across the globe, it is necessary to understand how the global nutrient supply has historically responded, and which subpopulations are most at risk. One particular subpopulation of importance is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who are already more susceptible to nutritional insult and metabolic syndrome than their non- Indigenous counterparts. While extreme weather is not the primary driving force in poor health outcomes, I hypothesise that it further exacerbates..