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Maxfield A, Hadley C, Hruschka DJ. The relationship between altitude and BMI varies across low- and middle-income countries. Am J Hum Biol 2024; 36:e24036. [PMID: 38213006 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Studies suggest that living at high altitude decreases obesity risk, but this research is limited to single-country analyses. We examine the relationship between altitude and body mass index (BMI) among women living in a diverse sample of low- and middle-income countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS Using Demographic and Health Survey data from 1 583 456 reproductive age women (20-49 years) in 54 countries, we fit regression models predicting BMI and obesity by altitude controlling for a range of demographic factors-age, parity, breastfeeding status, wealth, and education. RESULTS A mixed-effects model with country-level random intercepts and slopes predicts an overall -0.162 kg/m2 (95% CI -0.220, -0.104) reduction in BMI and lower odds of obesity (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.87, 0.95) for every 200 m increase in altitude. However, countries vary dramatically in whether they exhibit a negative or positive association between altitude and BMI (34 countries negative, 20 positive). Mixed findings also arise when examining odds of obesity. DISCUSSION We show that past findings of declining obesity risk with altitude are not universal. Increasing altitude predicts slightly lower BMIs at the global level, but the relationship within individual countries varies in both strength and direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Maxfield
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Craig Hadley
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Department of Quantitative Theory and Methods, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Daniel J Hruschka
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
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Yim AD, Cowgill L, Katz DC, Roseman CC. Variation in ontogenetic trajectories of limb dimensions in humans is attributable to both climatic effects and neutral evolution. J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103369. [PMID: 37104893 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies showed that there is variation in ontogenetic trajectories of human limb dimensions and proportions. However, little is known about the evolutionary significance of this variation. This study used a global sample of modern human immature long bone measurements and a multivariate linear mixed-effects model to study 1) whether the variation in ontogenetic trajectories of limb dimensions is consistent with ecogeographic predictions and 2) the effects of different evolutionary forces on the variation in ontogenetic trajectories. We found that genetic relatedness arising from neutral (nonselective) evolution, allometric variation associated with the change in size, and directional effects from climate all contributed to the variation in ontogenetic trajectories of all major long bone dimensions in modern humans. After accounting for the effects of neutral evolution and holding other effects considered in the current study constant, extreme temperatures have weak, positive associations with diaphyseal length and breadth measurements, while mean temperature shows negative associations with diaphyseal dimensions. The association with extreme temperatures fits the expectations of ecogeographic rules, while the association with mean temperature may explain the observed among-group variation in intralimb indices. The association with climate is present throughout ontogeny, suggesting an explanation of adaptation by natural selection as the most likely cause. On the other hand, genetic relatedness among groups, as structured by neutral evolutionary factors, is an important consideration when interpreting skeletal morphology, even for nonadult individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- An-Di Yim
- Department of Health and Exercise Sciences, Truman State University, 100 E Normal Ave, Kirksville, MO, USA; Department of Biology, Truman State University, 100 E Normal Ave, Kirksville, MO, USA; Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 109 Davenport Hall, 607 S Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, USA.
| | - Libby Cowgill
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, 112 Swallow Hall, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - David C Katz
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Canada
| | - Charles C Roseman
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 515 Morrill Hall, 505 S Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL, USA
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Population history and ecology, in addition to climate, influence human stature and body proportions. Sci Rep 2021; 11:274. [PMID: 33431970 PMCID: PMC7801440 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79501-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Worldwide variation in human stature and limb proportions is widely accepted to reflect thermal adaptation, but the contribution of population history to this variation is unknown. Furthermore, stature and relative lower limb length (LLL) show substantial plastic responses to environmental stressors, e.g., nutrition, pathogen load, which covary with climate. Thus ecogeographic patterns may go beyond temperature-based selection. We analysed global variation in stature, sitting height and absolute and relative LLL using large worldwide samples of published anthropometric data from adult male (n = 571) and female (n = 268) populations in relation to temperature, humidity, and net primary productivity (NPP). Population history was modeled using spatial eigenvector mapping based on geographic distances reflecting the hypothesized pattern for the spread of modern humans out of Africa. Regression models account for ~ 50% of variation in most morphological variables. Population history explains slightly more variation in stature, sitting height and LLL than the environmental/climatic variables. After adjusting for population history, associations between (usually maximum) temperature and LLL are consistent with Allen's "rule" and may drive similar relationships with stature. NPP is a consistent negative predictor of anthropometry, which may reflect the growth-limiting effects of lower environmental resource accessibility (inversely related to NPP) and/or pathogen load.
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Hackman JV, Hruschka DJ. Disentangling basal and accrued height‐for‐age for cross‐population comparisons. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 171:481-495. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel J. Hruschka
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change Arizona State University Tempe Arizona
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Warnakulasuriya LS, Fernando MAM, Adikaram AVN, Thawfeek ARM, Anurasiri WML, Elisabet R, Bergsten P, Silva KDRR, Samaranayake DL, Wickramasinghe VP. Assessment of Nutritional Status in Sri Lankan Children: Validity of Current Anthropometry Cutoffs? Asia Pac J Public Health 2019; 31:633-642. [PMID: 31529983 DOI: 10.1177/1010539519872061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Despite socioeconomic improvement, undernutrition rates stagnate in Sri Lanka, while a slow rise in obesity and noncommunicable diseases (NCD) is seen. Inability to improve undernutrition and detection of NCD could be due to overdiagnosing stunting/wasting and underdiagnosing overweight/obesity. Obesity, being a risk factor for NCDs, needs correct tools for early diagnosis. Although body mass index (BMI) is a commonly used surrogate index, the validity of universal cutoffs is questioned. Evidence shows that body composition varies with ethnic origin and cutoff value reflecting fat mass (FM) varies in different ethnic groups. This study was conducted in 12 788, 5- to 15-year-old children from 8 schools in Negombo, Sri Lanka, to identify the validity of current anthropometric cutoffs. Obesity prevalence identified by body fat content was high. International BMI cutoffs had high specificity but varied sensitivity. Locally developed BMI cutoffs had high sensitivity and specificity. Validity of internationally developed anthropometric cutoffs in South Asian children is unsatisfactory; hence, locally/regionally developed anthropometric tools should be used for screening of obesity.
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Wells JC, Saunders MA, Lea AS, Cortina-Borja M, Shirley MK. Beyond Bergmann's rule: Global variability in human body composition is associated with annual average precipitation and annual temperature volatility. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 170:75-87. [PMID: 31318051 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2019] [Revised: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Human populations exhibit substantial geographical variability in body size and shape. However, the ecological stresses underlying this morphological variability remain poorly understood. The prevailing evolutionary explanation, "Bergmann's rule" assumes that morphological variability represents an adaptive response to average thermal conditions. We hypothesized that other climate factors-annual average precipitation, a marker of ecological productivity and inter-annual temperature volatility, a marker of infectious disease spikes-may also contribute to variability in body composition. MATERIALS AND METHODS We explored this hypothesis by examining associations between these climate factors and geographic variability in body composition across 133 male and 105 female populations from nonindustrialized settings. We used monthly climate data over 113 years (1901-2013) to develop new climate indices for all worldwide land areas. We stratified our analyses by hot/cold setting (>/<20°C). RESULTS In hot environments, lean mass increased as predicted in association with ecological productivity, and decreased in association with ecological volatility. Conversely, levels of body fat increased in association with temperature volatility and precipitation. However, in cold settings, equivalent associations were only partially consistent with our hypotheses, and there was suggestive evidence of sex differences in these associations. DISCUSSION Beyond associations with mean annual temperature predicted by Bergmann's rule, variability in human body composition is also associated with mean annual temperature and inter-annual temperature volatility, with these associations further differing between hot and cold settings. Collectively, our results suggest that associations of human body composition with climate are complex for both physique (fat-free mass) and energy stores (adiposity).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan C Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
| | - Mark A Saunders
- Department of Space and Climate Physics, University College London, Surrey, UK
| | - Adam S Lea
- Department of Space and Climate Physics, University College London, Surrey, UK
| | - Mario Cortina-Borja
- Population, Policy & Practice Programme, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
| | - Meghan K Shirley
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.,Nutrition Department, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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Hadley C, Hruschka DJ. Testing ecological and universal models of body shape and child health using a global sample of infants and young children. Ann Hum Biol 2017; 44:600-606. [DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2017.1357755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Craig Hadley
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Daniel J. Hruschka
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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Hruschka DJ, Hadley C. How much do universal anthropometric standards bias the global monitoring of obesity and undernutrition? Obes Rev 2016; 17:1030-1039. [PMID: 27383689 DOI: 10.1111/obr.12449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2016] [Revised: 06/06/2016] [Accepted: 06/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Each year, hundreds of articles in population health and nutrition, many in high-profile journals, use standard cutoffs based on weight and height as assessments of obesity and undernutrition. These global efforts to monitor overweight and underweight often rest on the assumption that ethnic differences in underlying body form are sufficiently small to permit universal anthropometric cutoffs for comparing excess and insufficient body fat across populations. However, a century of work in human biological variation suggests that human populations can vary dramatically in underlying body form in a way that may require population-sensitive cutoffs for monitoring. Here, we describe recently developed methods that can provide population-sensitive assessments of both excess and insufficient energy reserves in a wide range of countries. We use this approach to illustrate how worldwide variation in human body form is far more widespread than previously thought, and that it can occur at several geographic scales, including the level of world regions, countries and populations within countries. The findings also suggest that using standard cutoffs that ignore this variation can underestimate current obesity levels in adults by more than 400-500 million while also incorrectly prioritizing high-risk areas for undernutrition in children in key regions around the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J Hruschka
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
| | - C Hadley
- Anthropology Department, Emory University, Decatur, GA, USA
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Urlacher SS, Liebert MA, Josh Snodgrass J, Blackwell AD, Cepon-Robins TJ, Gildner TE, Madimenos FC, Amir D, Bribiescas RG, Sugiyama LS. Heterogeneous effects of market integration on sub-adult body size and nutritional status among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador. Ann Hum Biol 2016; 43:316-29. [PMID: 27230632 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2016.1192219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Market integration (MI)-increasing production for and consumption from a market-based economy-is drastically altering traditional ways of life and environmental conditions among indigenous Amazonian peoples. The effects of MI on the biology and health of Amazonian children and adolescents, however, remain unclear. AIM This study examines the impact of MI on sub-adult body size and nutritional status at the population, regional and household levels among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Anthropometric data were collected between 2005-2014 from 2164 Shuar (aged 2-19 years) living in two geographic regions differing in general degree of MI. High-resolution household economic, lifestyle and dietary data were collected from a sub-sample of 631 participants. Analyses were performed to investigate relationships between body size and year of data collection, region and specific aspects of household MI. RESULTS Results from temporal and regional analyses suggest that MI has a significant and overall positive impact on Shuar body size and nutritional status. However, household-level results exhibit nuanced and heterogeneous specific effects of MI underlying these overarching relationships. CONCLUSION This study provides novel insight into the complex socio-ecological pathways linking MI, physical growth and health among the Shuar and other indigenous Amazonian populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel S Urlacher
- a Department of Human Evolutionary Biology , Harvard University , Cambridge , MA , USA
| | - Melissa A Liebert
- b Department of Anthropology , University of Oregon , Eugene , OR , USA
| | - J Josh Snodgrass
- b Department of Anthropology , University of Oregon , Eugene , OR , USA
| | - Aaron D Blackwell
- c Department of Anthropology , University of California , Santa Barbara , CA , USA ;,d Broom Center for Demography, University of California , Santa Barbara , CA , USA ;,e Center for Evolutionary Psychology, University of California , Santa Barbara , CA , USA
| | - Tara J Cepon-Robins
- f Department of Anthropology , University of Colorado , Colorado Springs , CO , USA
| | - Theresa E Gildner
- b Department of Anthropology , University of Oregon , Eugene , OR , USA
| | | | - Dorsa Amir
- h Department of Anthropology , Yale University , New Haven , CT , USA
| | | | - Lawrence S Sugiyama
- b Department of Anthropology , University of Oregon , Eugene , OR , USA ;,e Center for Evolutionary Psychology, University of California , Santa Barbara , CA , USA ;,i Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences, University of Oregon , Eugene , OR , USA
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Excessive adiposity at low BMI levels among women in rural Bangladesh. J Nutr Sci 2016; 5:e11. [PMID: 27313847 PMCID: PMC4791523 DOI: 10.1017/jns.2015.32] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2015] [Revised: 09/18/2015] [Accepted: 10/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Asian populations have a higher percentage body fat (%BF) and are at higher risk for CVD
and related complications at a given BMI compared with those of European descent. We
explored whether %BF was disproportionately elevated in rural Bangladeshi women with low
BMI. Height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference, triceps and subscapular skinfolds and
bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) were measured in 1555 women at 3 months postpartum.
%BF was assessed by skinfolds and by BIA. BMI was calculated in adults and BMI
Z-scores were calculated for females <20 years old. Receiver
operating characteristic (ROC) curves found the BMI and BMI Z-score
cut-offs that optimally classified women as having moderately excessive adipose tissue
(defined as >30 % body fat). Linear regressions estimated the association between
BMI and BMI Z-score (among adolescents) and %BF. Mean BMI was 19·2
(sd 2·2) kg/m2, and mean %BF was calculated as 23·7 (sd
4·8) % by skinfolds and 23·3 (sd 4·9) % by BIA. ROC analyses indicated that a BMI
value of approximately 21 kg/m2 optimised sensitivity (83·6 %) and specificity
(84·2 %) for classifying subjects with >30 % body fat according to BIA among
adults. This BMI level is substantially lower than the WHO recommended standard cut-off
point of BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. The equivalent cut-off among adolescents was a BMI
Z-score of –0·36, with a sensitivity of 81·3 % and specificity of 80·9
%. These findings suggest that Bangladeshi women exhibit excess adipose tissue at
substantially lower BMI compared with non-South Asian populations. This is important for
the identification and prevention of obesity-related metabolic diseases.
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