Impact of infancy duration on adult size in 22 subsistence-based societies.
Acta Paediatr
; 100(12): e248-52, 2011 Dec.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21726283
ABSTRACT
AIM:
Humans evolved to withstand harsh environments by adaptively decreasing their body size. Thus, adaptation to a hostile environment defers the infancy-childhood transition age (ICT), culminating in short stature. In natural-fertility human societies, this transition is associated with weaning from breastfeeding and the mother's new pregnancy. We therefore used the interbirth interval (IBI) as a surrogate for the ICT.METHODS:
We hypothesized that long IBI will be associated with smaller body size. The sample used is 22 subsistence-based societies of foragers, horticulturalists and pastorals from Africa, South America, Australia and Southeast Asia.RESULTS:
The IBI correlated negatively with the average adult bodyweight but not height. After correction for 'pubertal spurt takeoff' and 'weight at age 5', the IBI explains 81% of 'average adult weight' variability.CONCLUSIONS:
This inter-population study confirms that body weight is adaptively smaller in hostile environments and suggests that the selected trait for this adaptation is the ICT age.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Destete
/
Intervalo entre Nacimientos
/
Tamaño Corporal
/
Ambiente
/
Abastecimiento de Alimentos
Límite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Pregnancy
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
/
America do sul
/
Asia
/
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Acta Paediatr
Año:
2011
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Polonia