Body size and weight status of adult Indian males born in the 1890s–1950s: Age and secular change in the context of demographic, economic, and political transformation

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Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate secular change in body size and weight status of adult Indian males born in 1891–1957 and surveyed in the 1970s.

Methods

Data are from Anthropological Surveys. Only men were included in the surveys due to high female illiteracy and lack of female researchers. Indian society was also strongly conservative at the time, especially in rural areas, and the measurement of women by men was not permitted. Heights and weights of 43 950 males 18–84 years (born 1891–1957) were measured. The BMI was calculated; weight status of individuals was classified relative to WHO criteria and suggested criteria for the Asia-Pacific region. Heights of men 35+ years were also adjusted for age-related stature loss. Trends in measured and adjusted heights, body weight and the BMI, and in weight status were evaluated by age groups. Linear regression of measured height and adjusted height on year of birth was used to estimate secular effects.

Results

Mean heights declined slightly with age to 50 years and declined sharply through 60+ years, while mean weights increased into the 40s and then declined. Mean BMIs were relatively stable from 30 to 60 years. The prevalence of thinness and normal weight was high, while that of overweight and obesity was low. Regression analyses indicated limited secular change across the total range of birth years but suggested a decline in adjusted heights among men born in 1891 through the 1930s, and little change among men born subsequently.

Conclusions

Age-related trends and results of the regression analyses by year of birth indicated negligible secular change in heights of Indian men 18–84 years born between 1891 and 1957. BMIs indicated a high prevalence of thinness and normal weight and low prevalence of overweight and obesity.

A comparison of FELS and Tanner‐Whitehouse II skeletal ages in male youth soccer players from the Middle East

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Abstract

Objectives

To assess measurement agreement between FELS and Tanner-Whitehouse (TW) II skeletal ages in male youth soccer players from the Middle East.

Methods

We examined agreement between FELS and TW-II skeletal ages using data collected between- and within-subjects (n = 1057 observations) for 409 male, full-time, academy student-athletes recruited as part of the Qatar Football Association national soccer development programme (chronological age range, 9.8 to 18 years; annual screening range, one to seven visits). The Bland–Altman method for repeated measurements estimated the limits of agreement describing the expected range of differences for 95% of pairs of future FELS and TW-II skeletal ages determined on similar individuals from the reference population.

Results

The mean difference for TW-II versus FELS protocols was 0.02 years (95% confidence interval, −0.04 to 0.08 years) with lower and upper limits of agreement ranging from −1.39 years (95% confidence interval, −1.48 to −1.30 years) to 1.43 years (95% confidence interval, 1.34 to 1.52 years).

Conclusion

Differences for 95% of pairs of future skeletal ages determined with FELS and TW-II methods in this population could be as high as ~3 years for some people that suggested protocols may not be interchangeable in youth Middle Eastern athletes. Justification of skeletal age protocol selection rests on knowledge of measurement bias and variability of expected growth estimations for rationalized application to a population of interest.

Immigrant generation status and its association with pubertal timing and tempo among Hispanic girls and boys

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Abstract

Purpose

In the United States, Hispanic-Latino children reach puberty earlier on average than non-Hispanic white children. Yet among U.S. Hispanic/Latino children, pubertal timing comparisons between immigrant generations have not been made, hence we examined whether pubertal timing differs by immigrant generational status, independent of BMI and acculturation measures.

Methods

Cross-sectional data on 724 boys and 735 girls, aged 10–15 years, from the Hispanic Community Children's Health Study/Study of Latino (SOL) Youth, were used to predict the median ages of thelarche, pubarche, and menarche in girls, and pubarche and voice change in boys, using Weibull survival models, while adjusting for SOL center, BMI, and acculturation.

Results

In girls, the first generation began thelarche earlier than second and third generations (median age [years] [95% confidence interval]: 7.4 [6.1, 8.8] vs. 8.5 [7.3, 9.7] and 9.1 [7.6, 10.7], respectively), but began menarche later (12.9 [12.0,137] vs. 11.8 [11.0, 12.5] and 11.6 [10.6, 12.6], respectively). Pubertal timing and tempo for boys did not differ by generational status.

Conclusions

First-generation U.S. Hispanic/Latino girls had the earliest thelarche, latest menarche and longest pubertal tempo, compared to second and third generations. Factors beyond BMI and acculturation may account for the differences in pubertal timing by generational status of U.S. Hispanic/Latino girls.

Thermoregulation of Tuvan pastoralists and Western Europeans during cold exposure

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Abstract

Objectives

This study compared the metabolic and vascular responses, to whole-body and finger cold exposure, of a traditional population lifelong exposed to extreme cold winters with Western Europeans.

Methods

Thirteen cold acclimatized Tuvan pastoralist adults (45 ± 9 years; 24.1 ± 3.2 kg/m2) and 13 matched Western European controls (43 ± 15 years; 22.6 ± 1.4 kg/m2) completed a whole-body cold (10°C) air exposure test and a cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) test, which involved the immersion of the middle finger into ice-water for 30 min.

Results

During the whole-body cold exposure, the durations until the onset of shivering for three monitored skeletal muscles were similar for both groups. Cold exposure increased the Tuvans' energy expenditure by (mean ± SD) 0.9 ± 0.7 kJ min−1 and the Europeans' by 1.3 ± 1.54 kJ min−1; these changes were not significantly different. The forearm-fingertip skin temperature gradient of the Tuvans was lower, indicating less vasoconstriction, than the Europeans during the cold exposure (0 ± 4.5°C vs. 8.8 ± 2.7°C). A CIVD response occurred in 92% of the Tuvans and 36% of the Europeans. In line, finger temperature during the CIVD test was higher in the Tuvans than the Europeans (13.4 ± 3.4°C vs. 3.9 ± 2.3°C).

Conclusion

Cold-induced thermogenesis and the onset of shivering were similar in both populations. However, vasoconstriction at the extremities was reduced in the Tuvans compared to the Europeans. The enhanced blood flow to the extremities could be beneficial for living in an extreme cold environment by improving dexterity, comfort, and reducing the risk of cold-injuries.

Human adaptation to cold and warm climatic conditions: A comparison between two geographically diverse Indigenous populations

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Abstract

Objectives

The present study aims to compare body adiposity and blood pressure (BP) in two climatically and ethnically diverse populations, examining whether thermoregulatory adaptive mechanism may protect Indigenous populations from exhibiting adverse consequences of increased adiposity.

Methods

A cross sectional sample of 404 subjects, of which 200 were Monpa and 204 were Santhal, from two ethnically and geographically distinct populations of India were studied. Body mass index (BMI; kg/m2), fat mass (FM; kg), fat free mass (kg), and percent body fat (%BF) were calculated for evaluation of body adiposity. Multivariate multiple regression analysis was adopted to examine the influence of age and sex of populations under study, on body adiposity and BP variables.

Results

BMI, %BF, and FM were found to be significantly higher (p ˂ .001) among the Monpa males and females compared with their Santhal counterparts. In contrast, the prevalence of hypertension among Monpa and Santhal is comparable (3.5%Monpa vs. 3.9%Santhal for systolic BP; 8.5%Monpa vs. 8.3%Santhal for diastolic BP). Adiposity, as quantitated by the fat mass index and %BF was significantly (p ˂ .001) correlated to age and sex of study population, explaining ~75.3% and ~75.4% of total variations of these variables, respectively.

Conclusions

Overall the present study suggests that modern human populations follow thermoregulatory mechanism for adaptation to different climatic conditions. Consequently, greater adiposity was evident among the Monpa who adapt to the cold climate, in comparison to their Santhal counterparts who dwell in warm climate.

Mother’s education and infant survival in Ethiopia

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Abstract

Objective

Few studies in Ethiopia have explored the impact of the mothers' education on infant survival. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and analyze the proximate factors in the relationship between maternal education and infant survival in Ethiopia.

Methods

This study used the nationally representative 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey dataset. It analyzed a sample of 3831 newborn children using Cox regression models.

Results

The findings revealed that infants born to educated mothers had lower odds of infant mortality than those born to mothers without formal education. Specifically, infants whose mothers had completed secondary school and had a better antenatal care attendance rate had 49.9% lower odds of infant mortality than those born to mothers with no formal education and a poor antenatal care attendance rate. Furthermore, infants whose mothers had at least some postsecondary education and who used delivery by health-care professionals, clean drinking water, and improved toilet facilities had 65.3%, 56.3%, and 68.6% lower odds of infant mortality, respectively, than those born to mothers with no formal education and who did not use those facilities.

Conclusions

This study concluded that the mothers' educational disparity is intimately tied to infant mortality, and that access to formal education, mainly for women, increases infant survival in Ethiopia. Future research should focus on mothers without formal education who do not have access to antenatal care visits for safe pregnancy, delivery by health-care professionals, clean drinking water, and improved toilet facilities in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sleep duration in middle childhood and age at menarche

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Abstract

Objective

Puberty affects sleep phasing. However, it is unclear if sleep duration earlier in childhood could influence the timing of pubertal events. We aimed to assess the association between middle childhood nighttime sleep duration and age at menarche (AAM).

Methods

In a cohort of 819 premenarcheal Colombian girls who were followed annually for the occurrence of menarche, we estimated adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for menarche by categories of recommended sleep duration in middle childhood using Cox models. Analyses were stratified by age at sleep assessment.

Results

Among girls aged 9 to <11 years, compared with girls who slept within recommendations, sleeping above recommendations was related to an adjusted 76% (95% CI: 4%, 198%; p = .04) higher probability of experiencing menarche during follow up. In girls aged ≥11 years, compared with girls who slept within recommendations, sleeping under recommendations was related to an adjusted 42% (95% CI: 5%, 93%; p = .03) higher probability of experiencing menarche during follow-up. Sleep duration was not associated with AAM in girls aged <9 years at the time of sleep assessment.

Conclusions

Sleeping above recommendations in girls 9 to <11 years-old and sleeping under recommendations in girls ≥11 years-old is associated with earlier menarche.