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Leonard WR. Pearl Memorial Lecture. Humans at the extremes: Exploring human adaptation to ecological and social stressors. Am J Hum Biol 2024; 36:e24010. [PMID: 37974340 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The field of human biology has long explored how human populations have adapted to extreme environmental circumstances. Yet, it has become increasingly clear that conditions of social stress, poverty, and lifestyle change play equally important roles in shaping human biological variation and health. In this paper, I provide a brief background on the foundational human adaptability research of the International Biological Programme (IBP) from the 1960s, highlighting how its successes and critiques have shaped current research directions in the field. I then discuss and reflect on my own field research that has examined the influence of both environmental and social stresses on human populations living in different ecosystems: the Peruvian Andes, the Siberian arctic, and the Bolivian rainforest. Finally, I consider how the papers in this special issue advance our understanding of human adaptability to extreme conditions and offer directions for future research. Drawing on our field's distinctive evolutionary and biocultural perspectives, human biologists are uniquely positioned to examine how the interplay between social and ecological domains influences the human condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- William R Leonard
- Department of Anthropology & Program in Global Health Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
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Murphy KN, Boyce LK, Ortiz E, Santos M, Balseca G. Dietary Patterns of Children from the Amazon Region of Ecuador: A Descriptive, Qualitative Investigation. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 10:1568. [PMID: 37761529 PMCID: PMC10528603 DOI: 10.3390/children10091568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Many young children in Ecuador suffer from high rates of malnutrition and stunting that affect their long-term growth and development. Little is known about the dietary patterns of children from the Amazon region who experience some of the highest rates of stunting (height-for-age) within Ecuador. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 mothers of young children living in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In addition to descriptions of overall dietary patterns, three themes emerged from the interviews relating to strengths mothers have in feeding their children healthy diets: knowledge, autonomous and independent children, and supportive and responsive parenting. Five themes were found relating to barriers mothers have in feeding their children healthy diets. The first four themes concerned barriers (lack of knowledge of healthy foods, lack of access to healthy foods, not enough money, and child's health) related to multidimensional poverty. All these influenced the last theme found, namely, how difficult of an eater the child was. The implications of intervention efforts to reduce undernutrition and promote children's development by building on specific family and community strengths and identified barriers are also discussed in this paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin N. Murphy
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA;
| | - Lisa K. Boyce
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA;
| | - Eduardo Ortiz
- Institute for Disability Research, Policy and Practice, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA;
| | - Marcela Santos
- Facultad de Postgrado, Universidad Casa Grande, Guayaquil 090613, Ecuador
| | - Gloria Balseca
- Facultad de Postgrado, Universidad Casa Grande, Guayaquil 090613, Ecuador
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Veile A, Christopher L, Azcorra H, Dickinson F, Kramer K, Varela‐Silva I. Differences in nutritional status between rural and urban Yucatec Maya children: The importance of early life conditions. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022. [PMCID: PMC9314705 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Early‐life conditions shape childhood growth and are affected by urbanization and the nutritional transition. To investigate how early‐life conditions (across the “first” and “second” 1000 days) are associated with rural and urban children's nutritional status, we analyzed anthropometric data from Maya children in Yucatan, Mexico. We collected weight, height and triceps skinfold measures, then computed body mass and fat mass indices (BMI/FMI), in a cross‐sectional sample of 6‐year‐olds (urban n = 72, rural n = 66). Demographic, socioeconomic and early‐life variables (birthweight/mode, rural/urban residence, household crowding) were collected by maternal interview. We statistically analyzed rural‐urban differences in demographic, socioeconomic, early‐life, and anthropometric variables, then created linear mixed models to evaluate associations between early‐life variables and child anthropometric outcomes. Two‐way interactions were tested between early‐life variables and child sex, and between early‐life variables and rural‐urban residence. Results showed that rural children were shorter‐statured, with lower overweight/obesity and cesarean delivery rates, compared to urban children. Household crowding was a negative predictor of anthropometric outcomes; the strongest effect was in boys and in urban children. Birthweight positively predicted anthropometric outcomes, especially weight/BMI. Birth mode was positively (not statistically) associated with any anthropometric outcome. Cesarean delivery was more common in boys than in girls, and predicted increased height in urban boys. In conclusion, urbanization and household crowding were the most powerful predictors of Maya 6‐year‐old anthropometry. The negative effects of crowding may disproportionately affect Maya boys versus girls and urban versus rural children. Early‐life conditions shape Maya children's nutritional status both in the “first” and “second” 1000 days.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Veile
- Department of Anthropology Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA
| | | | - Hugo Azcorra
- Centro de Investigaciones Silvio Zavala Universidad Modelo Mérida Mexico
| | - Federico Dickinson
- Departamento de Ecología Humana Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional Mérida Mexico
| | - Karen Kramer
- Department of Anthropology University of Utah Salt Lake City Utah USA
| | - Inês Varela‐Silva
- Departamento de Ecología Humana Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional Mérida Mexico
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences Loughborough University Loughborough UK
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Rasmussen ZA, Shah WH, Hansen CL, Azam SI, Hussain E, Schaefer BA, Zhong N, Jamison AF, Ahmed K, McCormick BJJ. Examining the relationships between early childhood experiences and adolescent and young adult health status in a resource-limited population: A cohort study. PLoS Med 2021; 18:e1003745. [PMID: 34582458 PMCID: PMC8478204 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescence is a critical point in the realization of human capital, as health and educational decisions with long-term impacts are made. We examined the role of early childhood experiences on health, cognitive abilities, and educational outcomes of adolescents followed up from a longitudinal cohort study in Pakistan, hypothesizing that early childhood experiences reflecting poverty would manifest in reduced health and development in adolescence. METHODS AND FINDINGS Adolescents/young adults previously followed as children aged under 5 years were interviewed. Childhood data were available on diarrhea, pneumonia, and parental/household characteristics. New data were collected on health, anthropometry, education, employment, and languages spoken; nonverbal reasoning was assessed. A multivariable Bayesian network was constructed to explore structural relationships between variables. Of 1,868 children originally enrolled, 1,463 (78.3%) were interviewed as adolescents (range 16.0-29.3 years, mean age 22.6 years); 945 (65%) lived in Oshikhandass. While 1,031 (70.5%) of their mothers and 440 (30.1%) of their fathers had received no formal education, adolescents reported a mean of 11.1 years of education. Childhood diarrhea (calculated as episodes/child-year) had no association with nonverbal reasoning score (an arc was supported in just 4.6% of bootstrap samples), health measures (with BMI, 1% of bootstrap samples; systolic and diastolic blood pressure, 0.1% and 1.6% of bootstrap samples, respectively), education (0.7% of bootstrap samples), or employment (0% of bootstrap samples). Relationships were found between nonverbal reasoning and adolescent height (arc supported in 63% of bootstrap samples), age (84%), educational attainment (100%), and speaking English (100%); speaking English was linked to the childhood home environment, mediated through maternal education and primary language. Speaking English (n = 390, 26.7% of adolescents) was associated with education (100% of bootstrap samples), self-reported child health (82%), current location (85%) and variables describing childhood socioeconomic status. The main limitations of this study were the lack of parental data to characterize the home setting (including parental mental and physical health, and female empowerment) and reliance on self-reporting of health status. CONCLUSIONS In this population, investments in education, especially for females, are associated with an increase in human capital. Against the backdrop of substantial societal change, with the exception of a small and indirect association between childhood malnutrition and cognitive scores, educational opportunities and cultural language groups have stronger associations with aspects of human capital than childhood morbidity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeba A. Rasmussen
- Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Wasiat H. Shah
- Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Chelsea L. Hansen
- Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Syed Iqbal Azam
- Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Ejaz Hussain
- Administration Department, Karakoram International University, Gilgit, Pakistan
| | - Barbara A. Schaefer
- Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Nicole Zhong
- Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Alexandra F. Jamison
- Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Khalil Ahmed
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Karakoram International University, Gilgit, Pakistan
| | - Benjamin J. J. McCormick
- Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
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Sembiring D, Aritonang EY, Purba A, Lubis R. Enrichment of Biscuits with Andaliman and Fermented Buffalo Milk Biscuits for the Intervention of Malnutrition in Children Under Five. Open Access Maced J Med Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.3889/oamjms.2021.6647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Nutritional problems in children under 5 in Indonesia are very large and need effective intervention. Local ingredient is potential to create enrichment biscuits.
AIM: This study aims to produce biscuits enriched with Andaliman (Zanthoxylum acanthopodium) and fermented buffalo milk and to perform organoleptic tests on the taste, color, aroma, and texture of the biscuits.
METHODS: Three types of biscuits were made, namely, biscuits without Andaliman and fermented buffalo milk, biscuits with 2 g of Andaliman and 200 g of fermented buffalo milk, and biscuits with 3 g of Andaliman and 200 g of fermented buffalo milk. The all three biscuits were then tested organoleptically in the form of preferences by a panel of expert teachers to see choices for taste, color, aroma, and texture. The biscuits are then tested in a laboratory to assess their nutritional content.
RESULTS: Biscuits with 2 g of Andaliman and 200 g of fermented buffalo milk had the greatest preference. Statistically, the three groups of biscuits differed in taste, aroma, and texture (p < 0.05). The nutritional content of biscuits is above the standards set by the Ministry of Health.
CONCLUSION: Biscuits containing 2 g of Andaliman and 200 g of fermented buffalo milk have the potential to be produced as one of the intervention methods for under 5-year-old children malnutrition in Indonesia.
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Zhang YQ, Li H, Wu HH, Zong XN. Stunting, wasting, overweight and their coexistence among children under 7 years in the context of the social rapidly developing: Findings from a population-based survey in nine cities of China in 2016. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245455. [PMID: 33444425 PMCID: PMC7808628 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of stunting, wasting, overweight and their coexistence are various in different populations and they also have changed with social developing and environmental improving. In this paper, we aimed to analyze the prevalence of stunting, wasting, overweight and their coexistence in some developed regions of China. Data were collected in a population-based cross-sectional survey by a multi-stage cluster sampling method in nine cities located in the northern, central, and southern region of China in 2016. Children under seven years (n = 110,491) were measured. WHO growth standards were used to assess the growth status. Stunting, underweight, wasting, overweight and obesity were considered as the primary forms of malnutrition (includes undernutrition and overnutrition) for infant or young children at population-levels. The prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting, and overweight or obesity were respectively 0.7%, 0.6%, 1.2%, and 7.6%. Most of these children (95.4%) suffered from one form of malnutrition, and only 0.2% of them concurrently stunted and wasted, 0.4% concurrently stunted and overweight, 1.7% concurrently stunted and underweight, 2.3% concurrently underweight and wasted. Among stunted children, 91.2% were appropriate body proportion, and only 2.3% were wasted, 6.5% were overweight or obesity. Among overweight or obese children, only 0.6% were stunted, whereas, 15.8% were high stature and 83.6% were the appropriate ranges of stature. Sex, age, urban/suburban, and region were associated with these primary forms of malnutrition in the multivariate logistic analysis. In conclusion, we found that the coexistence of stunting and overweight was not common at both population-level and individual-level. The situation for undernutrition had significantly improved, and overweight may be the leading public health issue for children under seven years in the nine cities of China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya-Qin Zhang
- Department of Growth and Development, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China
| | - Hui Li
- Department of Growth and Development, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Hua-Hong Wu
- Department of Growth and Development, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China
| | - Xin-Nan Zong
- Department of Growth and Development, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China
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Hoke MK, Leatherman TL. Secular trends in growth in the high-altitude district of Nuñoa, Peru 1964-2015. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 168:200-208. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Morgan K. Hoke
- Department of Anthropology; University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia Pennsylvania
- Population Studies Center; University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia Pennsylvania
| | - Thomas L. Leatherman
- Department of Anthropology; University of Massachusetts Amherst; Amherst Massachusetts
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Brabec M, Behrman JR, Emmett SD, Gibson E, Kidd C, Leonard W, Penny ME, Piantadosi ST, Sharma A, Tanner S, Undurraga EA, Godoy RA. Birth seasons and heights among girls and boys below 12 years of age: lasting effects and catch-up growth among native Amazonians in Bolivia. Ann Hum Biol 2018; 45:299-313. [PMID: 30328382 PMCID: PMC6191890 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2018.1490453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2017] [Revised: 05/28/2018] [Accepted: 06/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Seasons affect many social, economic, and biological outcomes, particularly in low-resource settings, and some studies suggest that birth season affects child growth. AIM To study a predictor of stunting that has received limited attention: birth season. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This study uses cross-sectional data collected during 2008 in a low-resource society of horticulturists-foragers in the Bolivian Amazon, Tsimane'. It estimates the associations between birth months and height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) for 562 girls and 546 boys separately, from birth until age 11 years or pre-puberty, which in this society occurs ∼13-14 years. RESULTS Children born during the rainy season (February-May) were shorter, while children born during the end of the dry season and the start of the rainy season (August-November) were taller, both compared with their age-sex peers born during the rest of the year. The correlations of birth season with HAZ were stronger for boys than for girls. Controlling for birth season, there is some evidence of eventual partial catch-up growth, with the HAZ of girls or boys worsening until ∼ age 4-5 years, but improving thereafter. By age 6 years, many girls and boys had ceased to be stunted, irrespective of birth season. CONCLUSION The results suggest that redressing stunting will require attention to conditions in utero, infancy and late childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Brabec
- a Institute of Computer Science of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Department of Biostatistics and Informatics , National Institute of Public Health , Prague , Czech Republic
| | - Jere R Behrman
- b Department of Economics and Population Studies Center , University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , PA , USA
| | - Susan D Emmett
- c Department of Surgery, Division of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences , Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Global Health Institute , Durham , NC , USA
| | - Edward Gibson
- d Department of Psychology , University of California , Berkeley , Berkeley, CA , USA
| | - Celeste Kidd
- e Department of Psychology , , University of California , Berkeley, Berkeley , CA , USA
| | - William Leonard
- f Department of Anthropology , Northwestern University , Evanston , IL , USA
| | - Mary E Penny
- g Instituto de Investigación Nutricional , Lima , Peru
| | - Steven T Piantadosi
- e Department of Psychology , , University of California , Berkeley, Berkeley , CA , USA
| | - Abhishek Sharma
- h Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital , Brisbane , Australia
| | - Susan Tanner
- i Anthropology , University of Georgia , Athens , GA , USA
| | - Eduardo A Undurraga
- j Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Escuela de Gobierno , Santiago , Chile
| | - Ricardo A Godoy
- k Heller School for Social Policy and Management , Brandeis University , Waltham , MA , USA
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