environmental and socioeconomic influences

Question 1

effects of altitude

Answer 1

date from peru shows higher altitude = greater forced vital lung capacity but shorter stature
shorter because greater energetic costs of living at altitude
people at high altitude- body has adapted to have a better lung capacity

Question 2

bajau people south asia

Answer 2

evolved to live at seas- have larger spleens for greater oxygen resevoirs
can hold breath for 13 minutes
eye lenses have evolved so they can see underwater

Question 3

temperature

Answer 3

G&D affected by temp/climate
variations in body size between individuals in cold climates
in mammals, as environmental temp rides, food intake decreases and vice versa, to control heat stress
dont know how it works but is widely accepted

Question 4

environmental temp and growth

Answer 4

higher proportion of SA relative to skin- helps to regulate temp
being short is not good as it doesnt increase SA to mass
lower weight for height is good as increases SA to mass
evidence that people have evolved to have diff size to regulate living in diff climates

eg pygies in central africa- very short and 16-24 avg lifespan- evolved into shorter people as they stop growing very early

Question 5

seasonal changes

Answer 5

environment changes drastically within the year- many african countries have wet and dry season
point in year whem child is conceived and born has a big impact on birth weight
lowest SGA= june/july (good)
hightest SGA= jan/dec (bad)
during pregnancy food availabilty is lower during dry season so summer months&raquo_space;
not seen as much in UK but birth month affects age at menarche

Question 6

variations within and between countries

Answer 6

distinguish between countries by using income level of individuals and compare across high, middle and low income countries

Question 7

comparing height and BMI

Answer 7

of school age children
several factors interact throughout childhood and adolescence
genetics explains a small part of the variation relative to nutrition and environment
findings show that heights of migrant descendents converges to the height of their new country over a few generations

Question 8

urban vs rural

Answer 8

factors
population density, housing, sanitation, health
pollution
access to food
not necessarily better living standards in urban as could be overcrowding, unhealthy food and less exercise

findings (LMICs)
rural areas are shorter- may be due to lower income

Question 9

pollution

Answer 9

types include; water, air and nouse
link between air pollution and BW
higher pollution= lower birth weight
many confounding variables come with living areas that are more polluted

Question 10

chemical pollutants

Answer 10

in most food and drinks low levels of lead have been found
lead is linked with negative G&D outcomes

Question 11

lifestyle choices

Answer 11

paternal/maternal obesity
fetal alcohol syndrome affects brain development
alchohol linked to babies head circumferenc
childcare- linked to BMI
higher BMI at 10yrs in children who had childcare earlier

Question 12

intergenerational changes

Answer 12

secular trends- statistically or biologically significant change from time t to time t+1
positive- increase in size, earlier age of maturation
negative-decreases in size, later ages of maturation
social gradients- can be defined as differences in given phenotypic traits describing body size between social groups
can be observed as chnages in size of phenotypic traits in given time/ changes in age of achieving defined stage of development - may be due to improvement/decline of living conditions

Question 13

height trends

Answer 13

example graph from japanese children
same height trend at age 2 and 18
incrrase in adulthood because of infancy meaning adult height trend is achieved by the trend in infant growth
differences in height occur early in life

Question 14

birth weight

Answer 14

lots of reseaech on trends
positive trend in birth weight as women become bigger they have bigger babies
macrosomia- in 1975 was less than 1% of children were mroe than 4.5kg but 1992, almost 2% were

Question 15

socio economic position- SEP

Answer 15

as a child you are assessed by your parent’s income
at late teenage/early adult- by education
SEP based on income, wealth, education and occupation

need to classify as it is a clear ranking, used as a variable that captures SEP, life expectancy is highest in class 1 and lowest in class 7

Question 16

different SEPs

Answer 16

in 1969 britains most disadvantages children were 3.5cm shorter than mroe advantaged peers
by 2012 height diff was only 1.2cm
in 1969 dis weighed 1.8kg less and in 2012 they were 2.1kg heavier
children in lower SEP more likely to be obese and have higher BMI

Question 17

SEP and BMI

Answer 17

evidence that it works as BMI causes SEP, high BMI at 16 can impact SEP later

Question 18

LMIC

Answer 18

as gross national income increases, rates of obesity increase and rates of underweigth decrease
as countries develop, rates of obesity go up and underweight goes down
in high GDP countries- lower wealth= higher obesity
in low GDP countries- higher wealth= higher obesity
being wealthy has different consequences

Question 19

nutrition trasnsition

Answer 19

from eating whole foods and vegatables to highly processed energy dense foods
1. hunter gatheres
2. famine, underweight
3. receding famine as agriculture becomes more industrialised and incomes rise
4. obesity + diet related NCDs have increased
5. healthier diets and more active lifestyle
many LMICs still at stage 4 so struggling with issue of obesity and NCDs