Nutritional status as indicator for reproductive success in !Kung San and Kavango females from Namibia.

The interaction between nutritional status, estimated by using Body mass index, and fertility outcome was tested in two female samples from Northern Namibia. It turned out, that !Kung San undernourished females had significantly more total and surviving offspring than well-nourished and overweight females of these population. In contrast within the Kavango group well-nourished females had the highest reproductive success. These group specific differences can be interpreted as special reproductive strategies to maximize the reproductive success under different ecological conditions.