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Johnson W, Mansukoski L, Galvez-Sobral JA, Furlán L, Bogin B. Inequalities in adiposity trends between 1979 and 1999 in Guatemalan children. Am J Hum Biol 2024; 36:e24031. [PMID: 38148505 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24031] [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: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Guatemala suffered from civil war and high levels of inequality and childhood stunting in the second half of the 20th century, but little is known about inequalities in secular trends in adiposity. OBJECTIVES To investigate differences in childhood body mass index (BMI) and skinfold thickness trajectories from 1979 to 1999 between three groups of children: High socioeconomic position (SEP) Ladino, Low SEP Ladino, and Low SEP Indigenous Maya. METHODS The sample comprised 19 346 children aged 7-17 years with 54 638 observations. The outcomes were height, BMI, triceps skinfold thickness (TST), and subscapular skinfold thickness (SST) Z-scores according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) references. Sex-specific multilevel models were used to estimate and compare mean trajectories from 1979 to 1999 between the three groups. RESULTS Mean Z-scores were always highest for High SEP Ladino children and lowest for Low SEP Maya children. Despite their very short stature, the Low SEP groups had SST trajectories that were above the 50th centile. The BMI trajectories were relatively flat and within one major centile band of the CDC median, with differences between the three groups that were small (0.2-0.3 Z-scores) and did not attenuate over time. Conversely, the TST Z-score trajectories demonstrated larger positive secular trends (e.g., from -1.25 in 1979 to -0.06 in 1999 for Low SEP Maya boys), with differences between the three groups that were large (0.5-1.2 Z-scores) and did attenuate over time (in boys). Secular trends and between-group difference in the SST Z-score trajectories were less pronounced, but again we found stronger evidence in boys that the estimated inequalities attenuated over time. CONCLUSIONS Secular trends and inequalities in skinfolds differ from those for BMI in Guatemalan children. Differences between groups in skinfolds attenuated over time, at least in boys, but whether this is good news is questionable given the very short stature yet relatively large subscapular skinfolds of the Low SEP groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Johnson
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
| | | | - J Andres Galvez-Sobral
- Centro de Investigaciones Educativas, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Luis Furlán
- Centro de Estudios en Informática Aplicada, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Barry Bogin
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
- UCSD/Salk Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), USA
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2
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Ruiz Brunner MDLM, Cuestas E, von Kries R, Brooks J, Wright C, Heinen F, Schroeder AS. Growth patterns in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy from Argentina and Germany. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8947. [PMID: 37268651 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34634-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
To analyze growth patterns of children with CP between countries; to examine differences in growth; and to assess the fit of growth charts. Cross-sectional study in children with CP from 2 to 19 years old, 399 from Argentina and 400 from Germany. Growth measures were converted into z-scores and compared to WHO reference and US CP growth charts. Generalized Linear Model was used to analyze the growth expressed as mean z-scores. 799 children. Mean age 9 years (± 4). Compared to the WHO reference, the decrease in Height z-scores (HAZ) with age in Argentina (- 0.144/year) was double that in Germany (- 0.073/year). For children in GMFCS IV-V, BMI z-scores (BMIZ) decreased with age (- 0.102/year). Using the US CP charts, both countries showed decreasing HAZ with age, in Argentina (- 0.066/year) and in Germany (- 0.032/year). BMIZ increased more among children with feeding tubes (0.062/year), similar in both countries. Argentinian children with oral feeding decrease their Weight z-score (WAZ) by - 0.553 compared to their peers. With WHO charts BMIZ presented an excellent fit for GMFCS I-III. HAZ presents a poor fit to growth references. BMIZ and WAZ presented a good fit to US CP Charts. Growth differences due to ethnicity also act in children with CP, and are related to motor impairment, age and feeding modality, possibly reflecting differences in environment or health care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria de Las Mercedes Ruiz Brunner
- Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Córdoba, Argentina.
- Department of Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany.
| | - Eduardo Cuestas
- Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Córdoba, Argentina
- Catedra de Clínica Pediátrica, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Hospital Nuestra Señora de La Misericordia, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Rüdiger von Kries
- Division of Epidemiology, Institute of Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, LMU University, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Charlotte Wright
- Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK
| | - Florian Heinen
- Department of Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Sebastian Schroeder
- Department of Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany.
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Candela-Martínez B, Martínez-Carrión JM, Román-Cervantes C. Biological Well-Being and Inequality in Canary Islands: Lanzarote (Cohorts 1886-1982). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:12843. [PMID: 34886572 PMCID: PMC8657708 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182312843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Developments in anthropometric history in the Iberian Peninsula have been remarkable in recent decades. In contrast, we barely know about the behavior of insular population groups and infants' and adults' growth during the nutritional transition in the Canary Islands. This paper analyzes the height, weight and body mass index of military recruits (conscripts) in a rural municipality from the eastern Canaries during the economic modernization process throughout the 20th century. The case study (municipality of San Bartolomé (SB) in Lanzarote, the island closest to the African continent) uses anthropometric data of military recruits from 1907-2001 (cohorts from 1886 to 1982). The final sample is composed of 1921 recruits' records that were measured and weighed at the ages of 19-21 years old when adolescent growth had finished. The long-term anthropometric study is carried out using two approaches: a malnutrition and growth retardation approach and an inequality perspective. In the first one, we use the methodology recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) that is based on z-scores. In the second one, we implement several inequality dimensions such as the coefficient of variation (CV), percentiles and an analysis for height and BMI evolution by five socioeconomic categories. The data suggest that improvements in biological well-being were due to advances in nutrition since the 1960s. They show that infant nutrition is sensitively associated with economic growth and demographic and epidemiological changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Begoña Candela-Martínez
- Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Murcia University, 30100 Murcia, Spain;
| | - José M. Martínez-Carrión
- Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Murcia University, 30100 Murcia, Spain;
| | - Cándido Román-Cervantes
- Department of Management Business and Economic History, Faculty of Economics, University of La Laguna, 38204 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain;
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Bustamante A, Santos C, Pereira S, Freitas D, Katzmarzyk PT, Maia J. Regional variation in growth status. The Peruvian health and optimist growth study. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 34:e23704. [PMID: 34797005 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aims to (1) investigate differences in weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) among Peruvian children and adolescents living in three areas located at different altitudes; (2) compare age- and sex-specific height, weight, and BMI within each site with US reference data. METHODS We sampled 8753 subjects (4130 boys), aged 4 to 17 years from sea level, rainforest, and high-altitude. Height, weight, and WC were measured and BMI was calculated. Analysis of variance was used to compare variables across geographic regions, and the Hoff and Blackburn procedure was used to compare the Peruvian results with US reference data. RESULTS Participants living at sea level were taller, heavier, had greater BMI and WC relative to those living at high-altitude and in the rainforest. Peruvian schoolchildren of both sexes from the three geographical areas were shorter and lighter than their American peers. Boys and girls living in the rainforest and at high-altitude had lower BMI, whereas WC values of American schoolchildren are higher than those of the Peruvian children by age and gender. CONCLUSIONS Peruvians living at different altitudes differ in their growth indicators (height, weight, BMI, and WC), with significant differences between those living at sea level relative to their peers from other regions. Further, Peruvian schoolchildren of both sexes from the three geographical areas significantly differ from their US counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alcibíades Bustamante
- School of Physical Education and Sports, National University of Education Enrique Guzmán y Valle, Lima, Peru
| | - Carla Santos
- CIFI2D, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Sara Pereira
- CIFI2D, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.,CIDEFES, Centro de Investigação em Desporto, Educação Física e Exercício e Saúde, Universidade Lusófona, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Duarte Freitas
- Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal.,Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - Peter T Katzmarzyk
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - José Maia
- CIFI2D, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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Wake SK, Zewotir T, Muluneh EK. Nonlinear Physical Growth of Children from Infancy to Middle Adolescence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. J Res Health Sci 2021; 21:e00533. [PMID: 36511229 PMCID: PMC8957670 DOI: 10.34172/jrhs.2021.69] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The growth curve has a significant role in understanding the growth trajectories over time and examining the mathematical relationship between the outcome variable and time. STUDY DESIGN A longitudinal prospective cohort study. METHODS This study aimed to identify a nonlinear growth curve that best represents the growth trajectories in children's physical growth from ages 1 to 15 years. The data were obtained from the Young Lives study conducted in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam. Nonlinear growth curves were studied through the families of three-parameter nonlinear mixed-effects models. RESULTS The study examined the performances of different three-parameter nonlinear growth curves for the growth trajectory analysis, and the Logistic curve was chosen for the trajectory analysis. Gender and country differences had significant effects on the child's growth. Females reached asymptotic height earlier and shorter than males. The mean height values at the end of the growth stage for children in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam were 171.78, 170.37, 171.30, 174.31cm, respectively. Children in Ethiopia approached adult height earlier than those in India but later than children in Peru. However, no significant growth change was observed between children in Ethiopia and Vietnam. This indicates that children in Ethiopia and Vietnam have no significant differences regarding approaching adult height. CONCLUSION The study concludes that the Logistic curve was found to be the best growth curve to describe the growth trajectories. Children in all four countries exhibited different growth parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Senahara Korsa Wake
- Department of Statistics, College of Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
,Correspondence: Senahara Korsa Wake (MSc) Tel: +25 1910562062 E-mail:
| | - Temesgen Zewotir
- School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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Herráez A, Marrodán MD, González-Montero de Espinosa M. Hand grip strength in boys and girls from summer school camps in Spain, 1900-1925. A comparison with 21st century data. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 34:e23681. [PMID: 34533244 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The Spanish National Pedagogic Museum (Museo Pedagógico Nacional, MPN), founded by La Institución Libre de Enseñanza, organized the first summer school camps in Spain and their initiative was followed by other institutions in this country. MPN prepared anthropological forms for those sojourns, which included information about both metric and physiological measurements of the schoolchildren. The aim of the current work is to analyze hand grip strength data and to compare them with recent values. METHODS The initial sample included 2418 schoolchildren from 6 to 16 years old (1467 males, 951 females) attending the camps, but after preliminary analyses, the study was restricted to 1073 boys and 818 girls in the 1900-1925 interval. Three time periods were established and 13 categories of height at camp entry, every 5 cm. Normality tests were run as well as contrasts of means, and both average values and percentiles were calculated for hand grip strength in both hands, as a function of age and height categories. RESULTS The 1900-1925 interval was chosen since there were no significant differences among hand grip data within that period. Results show that children attending the camps had dynamometry values in both hands well below the current ones, both with reference to their height and to their age. CONCLUSIONS Camp attendees displayed very low values of height and hand grip strength in both hands. Both are significantly lower than contemporary values, manifesting a secular effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angel Herráez
- Departamento de Biología de Sistemas, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.,Grupo de Investigación Epinut, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Dolores Marrodán
- Grupo de Investigación Epinut, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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7
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Bogin B. Fear, violence, inequality, and stunting in Guatemala. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 34:e23627. [PMID: 34125987 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Stunting is defined by the public health community as a length- or height-for-age <-2 SD of a growth standard or reference and is claimed to be caused by poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation. MATERIAL AND METHODS Stunting is common at all income levels in middle- and low-income countries. At the higher income levels, stunting is unlikely to be caused by nutrient deficiency or infectious disease. RESULTS In Guatemala, 17% of <5-year-olds in the highest family income quintile are stunted. Guatemala has a history of violence from armed conflict, current-day social and economic inequalities, government corruption, and threat of kidnapping for the wealthiest families. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The high level of persistent violence creates an ecology of fear, an extreme range of inequalities in Social-Economic-Political-Emotional resources, and biosocial stress that inhibits skeletal growth and causes stunting for people of all income levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barry Bogin
- School of Sport, Exercise & Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.,UCSD/Salk Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), University of California San Diego, USA
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8
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Varghese JS, Maluccio JA, Cunningham SA, Ramirez-Zea M, Stein AD. Development of a temporally harmonized asset index: evidence from across 50 years of follow up of a birth cohort in Guatemala. BMC Med Res Methodol 2021; 21:85. [PMID: 33902451 PMCID: PMC8074514 DOI: 10.1186/s12874-021-01263-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Asset-based indices are widely-used proxy measures of wealth in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). The stability of these indices within households over time is not known. METHODS We develop a harmonized household asset index using Principal Component Analysis for the participants (n = 2392) of INCAP Longitudinal Study, Guatemala using data from six waves of follow-up over the period of 1965-2018. We estimate its cross-sectional association with parental schooling (in 1967-75) and attained schooling (in 2015-18) of cohort members. We study how patterns of cross-sectional loadings change over time and between urban-rural settings. We assess its robustness to omission of assets or study waves and alternate specifications of factor extraction procedure (exploratory factor analysis, multiple correspondence analysis). RESULTS The harmonized index constructed using 8 assets and 11 housing characteristics explained 32.4% of the variance. Most households increased in absolute wealth over time with median wealth (25th percentile, 75th percentile; households) increasing from - 3.74 (- 4.42, - 3.07; 547) in 1967 to 2.08 (1.41, 2.67; 1145) in 2017-18. Ownership of television, electricity, quality of flooring and sanitary installation explained the largest proportion of variance. The index is positively associated with measures of schooling (maternal: r = 0.16; paternal: r = 0.10; attained: r = 0.35, all p < 0.001). In 2015-18, house ownership versus housing characteristics and ownership of electronic goods differentiate households in urban and rural areas respectively. The index is robust for omission of assets or study waves, indicator categorization and factor extraction method. CONCLUSION A temporally harmonized asset index constructed from consistently administered surveys in a cohort setting over time may allow study of associations of life-course social mobility with human capital outcomes in LMIC contexts. The approach permits exploration of trends in household wealth of the sample over a follow-up period against repeated cross-sectional surveys which permit the estimation of only the mean trajectory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jithin Sam Varghese
- Nutrition and Health Sciences Program, Laney Graduate School, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - John A Maluccio
- Economics Department at Middlebury College, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, USA
| | - Solveig A Cunningham
- Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, #7007, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Manuel Ramirez-Zea
- INCAP Research Centre for the Prevention of Chronic Diseases (CIIPEC), Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Guatemala City, Guatemala
| | - Aryeh D Stein
- Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, #7007, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
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Bogin B, Varea C. COVID-19, crisis, and emotional stress: A biocultural perspective of their impact on growth and development for the next generation. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 32:e23474. [PMID: 32672890 PMCID: PMC7404495 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Barry Bogin
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.,UCSD/Salk Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), University of California, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Carlos Varea
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Madrid Autonomous University, Madrid, Spain
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Ferreira HDS, Albuquerque GT, Santos TRD, Barbosa RDL, Cavalcante AL, Duarte LEC, Assunção MLD. Stunting and overweight among children in Northeast Brazil: prevalence, trends (1992-2005-2015) and associated risk factors from repeated cross-sectional surveys. BMC Public Health 2020; 20:736. [PMID: 32434581 PMCID: PMC7238646 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-08869-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Background A study involving children from Alagoas (Northeast Brazil) revealed that, as a consequence of a drastic reduction in the prevalence of stunting between 1992 to 2005, (22.5 to 11.4%) combined with an increase in overweight prevalence (6.7 to 9.3%), the prevalence of these two conditions in 2005 was very close. If these trends were maintained, it is very likely that, at this time, the childhood overweight prevalence has already exceeded that of the stunting. However, no study is available to confirm this hypothesis. The identification of these changes is relevant to the planning and evaluation of public policies. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, time trends and associated factors with stunting and overweight in children from Alagoas. Methods Independent cross-sectional household surveys were conducted in 1992 (n = 1231), 2005 (n = 1381) and 2015 (n = 988). Data were collected from probabilistic samples of children aged 0–60 months. Stunting was defined by stature-for-age < − 2 sd and overweight by weight-for-stature > 2 sd. Results Between 1992, 2005 and 2015, the stunting prevalence was 22.6, 11.2 and 3.2% (reduction of 85.8%), while the overweight prevalence was 6.9, 7.5 and 14.9% (increase of 115.9%), respectively. After multivariate analysis, the following positive associations with stunting were observed in 1992: age group > 24 months (28.3% vs 14.5%), mother with ≥2 children (28.8% vs 12.8%), low birth weight (28.3% vs 15.7%) and mother with low schooling (29.3% vs 7.2%). In 2015 there was a higher prevalence of stunting in males (4.2% vs 2.2%), in children < 24 months (4.6% vs 2.2%), with low birth weight (8.6% vs 3.0%) and in those who had mothers with low schooling (7.0% vs 2.6%). Regarding overweight, in 1992 there was higher prevalence for male (9.1% vs 4.7%) and in children whose mothers had ≤2 children (8.9% vs 5.8%), while in 2015 only birth weight > 4 kg was associated to overweight (27.3% vs 14.2%). Conclusions During the analyzed period, there was a significant decrease in stunting prevalence. At the same time, a substantial increase was observed in the overweight prevalence. Currently, stunting is a problem of low magnitude, while overweight has become a worrying public health problem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haroldo da Silva Ferreira
- Faculty of Nutrition, Federal University of Alagoas, Campus A.C. Simões, BR 104 Norte - Km 96.7 - Tabuleiro do Martins, CEP, Maceió, AL, 57072-970, Brazil.
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Monica Lopes de Assunção
- Faculty of Nutrition, Federal University of Alagoas, Campus A.C. Simões, BR 104 Norte - Km 96.7 - Tabuleiro do Martins, CEP, Maceió, AL, 57072-970, Brazil
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11
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Ríos L, Terán JM, Varea C, Bogin B. Plasticity in the growth of body segments in relation to height-for-age and maternal education in Guatemala. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 32:e23376. [PMID: 31854051 PMCID: PMC7507214 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Objectives Plasticity in the growth of body segments between populations has been researched in relation to migration, temporal change and high‐altitude studies. We study the within population variation in body segments, thus controlling for some of the environmental and genetic differences that could be at play in between populations studies. We test a version of the thrifty phenotype hypothesis, where the growth of head‐trunk and hand are prioritized due to their functional significance over height and leg growth. Materials and methods A total of 3913 Guatemalan, rural, semi‐urban and urban, Maya and Ladino children 6 to 15 years old were studied. Height, sitting height, leg length, and metacarpal length were studied in relation to three proxies for living conditions: height‐ and leg length‐for‐age, and maternal education. Estimation statistics and null hypothesis significance testing were used to analyze the data. Results Metatarsal length and sitting height values were higher than height and leg length respectively. Relative metacarpal length was conserved across height‐for‐age groups. Females were less affected than males for metacarpal length and sitting height, but more affected for leg length. Conclusion Our results agree with the thrifty phenotype hypothesis, where metacarpal and sitting height growth would be prioritized over height and leg length due to greater functional significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Ríos
- Department of Physical Anthropology, Aranzadi Science Society, San Sebastian, Spain
| | - José Manuel Terán
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Varea
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Barry Bogin
- School of Sport, Exercise & Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
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