Maternal height and its relationship to offspring birth weight and adiposity in 6‐ to 10‐year‐old Maya children from poor neighborhoods in Merida, Yucatan

Azcorra, Hugo; Dickinson, Federico; Banik, Sudip Datta

doi:10.1002/ajpa.23057

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Besides, results of a study that aimed to investigate the quality of maternal diet during pregnancy in a sample of women from low to middle income groups from Merida and surrounded communities, found that 51% of women started the pregnancy with excess body weight (BMI >25 kg/m 2 ) (Romero Villanueva, 2020). The notion of an increased susceptibility of boys in this sample against adverse early conditions and intergenerational influences is supported by results of a previous study in which maternal height, a proxy measure for nutritional history, was inversely associated with fat mass index, waist circumference and skinfolds in boys (Azcorra, Dickinson, & Datta Banik, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Birth weight and body composition in 6‐to‐8 years old Maya children

Azcorra

Varela‐Silva

Dickinson

2020

American J Hum Biol

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Objective: To test the hypothesis that fetal growth, indexed by birth weight (BW), induce metabolic adjustments in the fetus that will be reflected in differences in body composition in a sample of 6-to 8-years old urban Maya children from Yucatan, Mexico. Methods: We measured height (cm), weight (kg) and triceps skinfold (mm) in 260 children (boys: 132, girls: 128), and height (cm) and weight (kg) in their mothers. Body composition was estimated in children through bioelectrical impedance analysis. Outcome variables were fat free-mass index (FFMI = fatfree mass [kg]/height [m] 2 ) and fat mass index (FMI = fat mass [kg]/height [m] 2 ). The main independent variable was BW z-scores. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the association between BW z-scores and outcome variables measured during childhood. Separate analyses were done for boys and girls. Complementary models were run using outcomes as zscores. Models were adjusted for location, children's and mothers' age, mother's body mass index and household overcrowding index.Results: BW in boys was positively associated with FFMI and FMI. FFMI increase 0.34 kg/m 2 per 1-SD increase in BW and FMI increase 0.40 kg/m 2 per 1-SD increase in BW. When outcomes were used as z-scores, FFMI increase 0.24 SD and FMI increase 0.18 SD per 1-SD increase in BW, respectively. Conclusion: Our results are in contrast with previous findings that birth weight is more consistently associated with subsequent lean mass than with fat mass. Associations, detected only in boys, may be explained by sex differences in sensitivity to early life environments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Birth weight and body composition in 6‐to‐8 years old Maya children

Azcorra

Varela‐Silva

Dickinson

2020

American J Hum Biol

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“…Secular trend of height and improvement of leg length in terms of relative increase of knee height (lower leg length) among daughters of women representing the Maya community in Yucatan explained intergenerational influences, rural to urban migration, and substantial improvement in their living conditions (Azcorra et al 2015). Maternal short stature has been reported to be associated with higher body fat in Maya children in Merida, Yucatan (Azcorra et al 2016). Higher body fat has been found to be positively correlated with EM in girls from Merida, Yucatan (Datta Banik et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, reports on the association of EM with differential growth patterns of height and relative body dimensions (leg length and trunk length relative to height) are not available. AM has been reported to be associated with household socioeconomic factors, mother's and grandmother's childhood living conditions in Yucatan, Mexico (Azcorra et al 2018;Datta Banik and Dickinson 2016). Poor household socioeconomic status and living conditions of the Maya community in Yucatan are important factors that are responsible for poor nutrition and physical growth of children (Azcorra et al 2016(Azcorra et al , 2018.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of early menarche with elevated BMI, lower body height and relative leg length among 14- to 16-year-old post-menarcheal girls from a Maya community in Yucatan, Mexico

Banik

2022

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Human body segments have different timing and tempo of growth. Early menarche (EM) as an indicator of early reproductive maturity results in a shortened height and leg length. Relatively larger trunk may increase risk for more body fat deposit and higher body mass index (BMI) due to the allometry of total body fat with body proportions. The objective of the study was to assess the association of EM with BMI, absolute body size [height, sitting height (SH), subischial leg length (SLL)] and relative body dimensions [sitting height to subischial leg length ratio (SHSLLR), relative subischial leg length (RSLL)] among 14- to 16-year-old post-menarcheal girls from a rural Maya community in Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Mexico. In a cross-sectional study, post-menarcheal girls (n=51) aged 14 to 16 years had EM (n=22) (<12 years of age) and not early menarche (NEM, n=29). Anthropometric measurements of height, weight, and SH were recorded. Derived variables were BMI, height and BMI-for-age z-scores, SLL, SHSLLR, and RSLL. Mean value of age at menarche (AM) was 13 years (EM 11 years, NEM 14 years). Mean values of height (EM 159 cm, NEM 164 cm), BMI (EM 20 kg/m2, NEM 19 kg/m2), sitting height (EM 81 cm, NEM 78 cm), SLL (EM 79 cm, NEM 85 cm), SHSLLR (EM 102.93%, NEM 92.03%), and RSLL (EM 49%, NEM 52%) were different (p<0.05) in the two groups. BMI showed significant negative correlation with AM (Pearson’s r=-0.29, p<0.04). Linear regression models adjusted for age showed that EM had different interrelationships (p<0.05) with body dimensions: positive with BMI, SH, SHSLLR, and negative with height, SLL, and RSLL. Earlier AM was associated with higher BMI, SH, SHSLLR and lower SLL, RSLL, explaining lower body height and leg length among the participant EM girls. In the light of life history theory, EM results in a growth trade-off, short stature and larger trunk relative to leg length that might enhance risk for body fat gain.

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“…By contrast, high-fertility, and by extension large households, can come with a cost for high offspring investment strategies. High fertility increases the number of children needed to be schooled, and may produce overcrowded households, which is a well-known indicator of multi-dimensional inequality in Mexico, and is associated with low asset wealth and poor household conditions [ 58 , 59 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies

Hackman

Kramer

2021

PLoS ONE

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Mixed economies provide a unique context for testing theories of fertility change. Because they have a stake in two traditions, mixed-economy households balance the demands of both a labor-based subsistence economy, which benefits from a large family, and a wage-labor economy, which benefits from reduced fertility. Additionally, household size changes over the course of its life-cycle and shapes available economic opportunities. Here we argue that in mixed economies, fertility may reflect opportunities for livelihood diversity rather than simply responding to the restricted socioeconomic benefits of small families. While low fertility may in some cases have an economic benefit, low fertility can also limit the livelihood diversity of a household which is a key strategy for long-term economic success. We test this prediction with longitudinal data from a Maya community undergoing both a sustained decline in fertility and rapid integration into the market economy. Using household-level fertility, number of adults, and livelihood diversity at two time points, we find that household size is positively related to livelihood diversity, which in turn is positively related to household income per-capita. However, household size also has a negative association with income per capita. The results reflect a balancing act whereby households attempt to maximize the economic diversity with as few members as possible. Broadly, these results suggest that theories of fertility decline must account for how households pool resources and diversify economic activities in the face of increasing market integration, treating fertility as both an outcome and an input into economic and reproductive decision-making.

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Maternal height and its relationship to offspring birth weight and adiposity in 6‐ to 10‐year‐old Maya children from poor neighborhoods in Merida, Yucatan

Abstract: The results suggest that maternal nutritional history as reflected in short maternal stature is associated with higher body fat in children, and that male offspring are more vulnerable to intergenerational influences.

Cited by 10 publications

References 67 publications

Birth weight and body composition in 6‐to‐8 years old Maya children

Birth weight and body composition in 6‐to‐8 years old Maya children

Association of early menarche with elevated BMI, lower body height and relative leg length among 14- to 16-year-old post-menarcheal girls from a Maya community in Yucatan, Mexico

Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies

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