Wilson Hannah J, Dickinson Federico, Griffiths Paula L, Bogin Barry, Hobbs Matthew, Varela-Silva M Inês
Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2014 Apr;153(4):627-34. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22463. Epub 2013 Dec 30.
The co-existence of very short stature due to poor chronic environment in early life and obesity is becoming a public health concern in rapidly transitioning populations with high levels of poverty. Individuals who have very short stature seem to be at an increased risk of obesity in times of relative caloric abundance. Increasing evidence shows that an individual is influenced by exposures in previous generations. This study assesses whether maternal poor early life environment predicts her child's adiposity using cross sectional design on Maya schoolchildren aged 7-9 and their mothers (n = 57 pairs). We compared maternal chronic early life environment (stature) with her child's adiposity (body mass index [BMI] z-score, waist circumference z-score, and percentage body fat) using multiple linear regression, controlling for the child's own environmental exposures (household sanitation and maternal parity). The research was performed in the south of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, a low socioeconomic urban area in an upper middle income country. The Maya mothers were very short, with a mean stature of 147 cm. The children had fairly high adiposity levels, with BMI and waist circumference z-scores above the reference median. Maternal stature did not significantly predict any child adiposity indicator. There does not appear to be an intergenerational component of maternal early life chronic under-nutrition on her child's obesity risk within this free living population living in poverty. These results suggest that the co-existence of very short stature and obesity appears to be primarily due to exposures and experiences within a generation rather than across generations.
早年因长期恶劣环境导致身材极矮与肥胖并存，在贫困程度高且迅速转型的人群中，正成为一个公共卫生问题。身材极矮的个体在热量相对充足时似乎肥胖风险更高。越来越多的证据表明，个体受到前几代人所接触环境的影响。本研究采用横断面设计，对7至9岁的玛雅学龄儿童及其母亲（n = 57对）进行评估，以确定母亲早年不良环境是否能预测其孩子的肥胖情况。我们使用多元线性回归，在控制孩子自身的环境暴露因素（家庭卫生条件和母亲生育胎次）的情况下，比较母亲早年的慢性环境（身高）与孩子的肥胖程度（体重指数[BMI] z评分、腰围z评分和体脂百分比）。该研究在墨西哥尤卡坦州梅里达市南部进行，该市是一个中高收入国家的低社会经济水平城市地区。玛雅母亲身材极矮，平均身高为147厘米。孩子们的肥胖程度相当高，BMI和腰围z评分高于参考中位数。母亲的身高并不能显著预测任何孩子肥胖指标。在这个生活贫困的自由生活人群中，母亲早年慢性营养不良对其孩子肥胖风险似乎不存在代际影响因素。这些结果表明，身材极矮与肥胖并存似乎主要是由于一代人内部的接触和经历，而非跨代影响。
