Dataset Information

Gender perceptions predict sex differences in growth patterns of indigenous Guatemalan infants and young children.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Nearly one-half of Guatemalan children experience growth faltering, more so in indigenous than in nonindigenous children. OBJECTIVES:On the basis of ethnographic interviews in Totonicapán, Guatemala, which revealed differences in maternal perceptions about food needs in infant girls and boys, we predicted a cumulative sex difference in favor of girls that occurred at ?6 mo of age and diminished markedly thereafter. We examined whether the predicted differences in age-sex patterns were observed in the village, replicated the examination nationally for indigenous children, and examined whether the pattern in nonindigenous children was different. DESIGN:Ethnographic interviews (n = 24) in an indigenous village were conducted. Anthropometric measurements of the village children aged 0-35 mo (n = 119) were obtained. National-level growth patterns were analyzed for indigenous (n = 969) and nonindigenous (n = 1374) children aged 0-35 mo with the use of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data. RESULTS:Mothers reported that, compared with female infants, male infants were hungrier, were not as satisfied with breastfeeding alone, and required earlier complementary feeding. An anthropometric analysis confirmed the prediction of healthier growth in indigenous girls than in indigenous boys throughout the first year of life, which resulted in a 2.98-cm height-for-age difference (HAD) between sexes in the village and a 1.61-cm HAD (P < 0.001) in the DHS data between 6 and 17 mo of age in favor of girls. In both data sets, the growth sex differences diminished in the second year of life (P < 0.05). No such pattern was seen in nonindigenous children. CONCLUSIONS:We propose that the differences in the HAD that first favor girls and then favor boys in the indigenous growth patterns are due to feeding patterns on the basis of gendered cultural perceptions. Circumstances that result in differential sex growth patterns need to be elucidated, in particular the favorable growth in girls in the first year of life.

SUBMITTER: Tumilowicz A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6443301 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Gender perceptions predict sex differences in growth patterns of indigenous Guatemalan infants and young children.

Tumilowicz Alison A Habicht Jean-Pierre JP Pelto Gretel G Pelletier David L DL

The American journal of clinical nutrition 20150930 5

<h4>Background</h4>Nearly one-half of Guatemalan children experience growth faltering, more so in indigenous than in nonindigenous children.<h4>Objectives</h4>On the basis of ethnographic interviews in Totonicapán, Guatemala, which revealed differences in maternal perceptions about food needs in infant girls and boys, we predicted a cumulative sex difference in favor of girls that occurred at ∼6 mo of age and diminished markedly thereafter. We examined whether the predicted differences in age-se ...[more]

PMID: 26423387

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundLatin America is facing an increasing burden of nutrition-related non-communicable disease. Little is known about dietary patterns in Guatemalan adults and how dietary patterns are associated with cardio-metabolic disease (CMD) risk.MethodsThis analysis is based on data from a 2002-04 follow-up study of the INCAP Nutrition Supplementation Trial Longitudinal Cohort. Diet data were collected using a validated, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. We derived dietary patterns using principal components analysis. CMD risk was assessed by anthropometry (body mass index, waist circumference), biochemistry (fasting blood glucose and lipids), and clinical (blood pressure) measures. We used sex-stratified multivariable log binomial models to test associations between dietary pattern tertile and CMD risk factors. The sample included 1,428 participants (681 men and 747 women) ages 25-43 years.ResultsWe derived 3 dietary patterns (traditional, meat-based modern, and starch-based modern), collectively explaining 24.2% of variance in the diet. Dietary patterns were not associated with most CMD risk factors; however, higher starch-based modern tertiles were associated with increased prevalence of low high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) in men (Prevalence Ratio (PR) 1.17, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.01, 1.20 for tertile 2; PR 1.20, 95% CI 1.00, 1.44 for tertile 3; p trend 0.04). Higher traditional tertile was associated with increased prevalence of abdominal obesity in women (PR 1.24, 95% CI 1.07, 1.43 for tertile 2; PR 1.19, 95% CI 1.02, 1.39 for tertile 3; p trend 0.02) but marginally significant reduced prevalence of low HDL-c in men (PR 0.88, 95% CI 0.76, 1.00 for tertile 2; PR 0.85, 95% CI 0.72, 1.00 for tertile 3; p trend 0.05).ConclusionOur findings suggest the presence of two 'modern diet' patterns in Guatemala - one of which was associated with increased prevalence of low HDL-c in men. The association between the traditional dietary pattern and some CMD risk factors may vary by sex.

Project description:BACKGROUND:The Guatemalan Highlands is a region of great but so far poorly known mycological diversity. People living in this area have long used wild fungi as a source of food and income. However, our knowledge of the ethnomycological practices of the Mayan peoples of Guatemala is still rudimental, especially if compared with information reported for the neighboring region of Mexico. Among the main indigenous groups of the Maya people inhabiting the highlands of Central Guatemala, stand the Kaqchikel, accounting for nearly 8% of the entire Guatemalan population. The main aim of this study was to record the traditional knowledge and use of edible wild mushrooms by inhabitants of the municipality of San Juan Sacatepéquez that lies at the heart of the Kaqchikel area in the central highlands of Guatemala, also describing the relevant selling practices and dynamics. A secondary aim was to compare the diversity and composition of the mushroom assemblage offered at the market with the macrofungal diversity of woods in the area. METHODOLOGY:This study is the result of 4?years of ethnomycological research, conducted through continuous visits to the municipal market and focused interviews with collectors and vendors. Field sampling in pine-oak forested areas surrounding San Juan Sacatepéquez, from where the mushrooms sold at the market are foraged, were also conducted, in the presence of local collectors. RESULTS:The results show a significant richness of species sold in the market, a network of commerce of purchase, sale, and resale of several species, with relatively stable prices, and knowledge about edible and inedible species that is transmitted mainly within the family nucleus. The business of selling mushrooms in the market is an exclusive activity of women, who are supplied by collectors or by other vendors. Fungi are sold and bought only as food, while no consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms or medicinal mushrooms was recorded. Several species of Amanita, Cantharellus, Boletus, Lactarius, and Russula were those most commercialized in the 4?years of the study, but we also spotted fungi never reported before as consumed in the country, including Gastropila aff. fumosa (= Calvatia fumosa) and several species of Cortinarius. Field sampling in nearby pine-oak forests confirmed an elevated local macrofungal diversity. CONCLUSION:Our study unveiled the contemporary wealth of Kaqchikel culture for what concerns mushrooms, demonstrating that mushrooms continue to be culturally and economically important for these communities despite the erosion of traditional knowledge. Our results also confirmed the need to investigate in greater detail the Guatemalan mycodiversity that is vast and poorly known.

Dataset Information

Gender perceptions predict sex differences in growth patterns of indigenous Guatemalan infants and young children.

Publications

Gender perceptions predict sex differences in growth patterns of indigenous Guatemalan infants and young children.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets