Kathryn S Oths1, Hannah N Smith1, Max J Stein1, Rodrigo J Lazo Landivar2. 1. Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487. 2. Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: In the past decade many areas of Peru have been undergoing extreme environmental, economic, and cultural change. In the highland hamlet of Chugurpampa, La Libertad, climate change has ruined harvests and led to frequent periods of migration to the coast in search of livelihood. This biocultural research examines how the changes could be affecting the growth of children who maintain residence in the highlands. METHODS: Clinical records from the early 2000s were compared to those from the early 2010s. Charts were randomly selected to record anthropometric data, netting a sample of 75 children ages 0-60 months of age. Analysis of covariance was run to compare mean stature, weight, and BMI between cohorts. Percentage of children who fall below the -2 threshold for z-scores for height and weight were compared by age and cohort. RESULTS: A significant secular trend in growth was found, with children born more recently larger than those born a decade before. The effect is most notable in the first year of life, with the growth advantage attenuated by the age of 3 for height and age 4 for weight. While children were unlikely to be stunted from 0 to 3 years of age, 44% of the later cohort were stunted and 11% were underweight from 4 to 5 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: Three possible explanations for the rapid shift are entertained: more time spent on the coast during gestation and early childhood, which may attenuate the effect of hypoxia on child growth; dietary change; and increased use of biomedicine.
OBJECTIVES: In the past decade many areas of Peru have been undergoing extreme environmental, economic, and cultural change. In the highland hamlet of Chugurpampa, La Libertad, climate change has ruined harvests and led to frequent periods of migration to the coast in search of livelihood. This biocultural research examines how the changes could be affecting the growth of children who maintain residence in the highlands. METHODS: Clinical records from the early 2000s were compared to those from the early 2010s. Charts were randomly selected to record anthropometric data, netting a sample of 75 children ages 0-60 months of age. Analysis of covariance was run to compare mean stature, weight, and BMI between cohorts. Percentage of children who fall below the -2 threshold for z-scores for height and weight were compared by age and cohort. RESULTS: A significant secular trend in growth was found, with children born more recently larger than those born a decade before. The effect is most notable in the first year of life, with the growth advantage attenuated by the age of 3 for height and age 4 for weight. While children were unlikely to be stunted from 0 to 3 years of age, 44% of the later cohort were stunted and 11% were underweight from 4 to 5 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: Three possible explanations for the rapid shift are entertained: more time spent on the coast during gestation and early childhood, which may attenuate the effect of hypoxia on child growth; dietary change; and increased use of biomedicine.
Authors: Doreen Montag; Carlos A Delgado; Consuelo Quispe; David Wareham; Valentina Gallo; Jose Sanchez-Choy; Víctor Sánchez; Ruth Anaya; Elaine Flores; Lorena Roca; Víctor Mamani; Juan Rivera Medina; Pablo Velasquez; Carlos Del Aguila; Andrew Prendergast; Julio Palomino Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2021-05-13 Impact factor: 2.692
Authors: Wen-Chien Yang; Chun-Min Fu; Bo-Wei Su; Chung-Mei Ouyang; Kuen-Cheh Yang Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-05-22 Impact factor: 3.390
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