Growth of nomadic and settled Turkana infants of northwest Kenya

Abstract

Turkana tribespeople reside in a semi-arid savanna ecosystem in northwest Kenya. For over a decade, Ngisonyoka Turkana nomads have been studied within a multidisciplinary framework that embraces ecology, anthropology, and human population biology. Original research objectives of the South Turkana Ecosystem Project were to study nomads longitudinally and within the context of the dry savanna ecosystem. These objectives have been expanded to incorporate settled Turkana who were nomads in the recent past, but who, for a variety of reasons, have taken up a life of sedentary cultivation. The research described here focused on comparisons of growth patterns of nomadic and settled infants from birth to 24 months of age. Infants were measured (recumbent length, weight, head circumference, arm and calf circumference, and selected skinfolds) in 1989 and 1990. Settled infants were slightly longer, but nomadic infants were heavier and fatter. Head circumferences were the same. Some variation was observed by season and year of measurement (from comparative surveys). Both groups showed pronounced weight faltering after 6 months of age when compared with U.S. NCHS reference values. Head circumference faltering was moderate and recumbent length faltering was only slight after 12 months of age. Comparisons of Turkana infant growth in the two populations can contribute indirectly to a better understanding of infant nutritional status, probable morbidity, and other factors, some of which may be linked to female reproduction.

Sedentism, seasonality, and economic status: A multivariate analysis of maternal dietary and health statuses between pastoral and agricultural Ariaal and Rendille communities in northern Kenya

“…First and foremost, we think that these socioeconomic and biological differences reflect underlying changing dietary regimes. Pastoral diets are generally characterized as high in protein but low in calories, with marked seasonal variation in both protein and energy content (Galvin, 1985(Galvin, , 1992Galvin and Little, 1999;Little et al, 1993;Nathan et al, 1996;Nestel, 1986;Shell-Duncan, 1995). The lean seasons for Ariaal and Rendille pastoralists come at the end of the two dry seasons (NovemberMarch and May-August) when livestock pasture becomes scarce, in turn limiting both drinking water and milk availability for human consumption (Fratkin, 1991).…”

An alternative method for assessing early mortality in contemporary populations

“…Mortality in the first few days of life is strongly associated with the intrauterine experience. Pike (1996) found that perinatal (Gray, 1999;Little et al, 1993;Pike, 1996). This increased vulnerability at 4-6 months is not associated with any clear changes in an infant's diet or caretaking, but may be evidenced by the substantial number of deaths occurring prior to crawling.…”

Mixed‐longitudinal growth of breastfeeding children in Moroto District, Uganda (Karamoja subregion). A loss of biological resiliency?

“…Briefly, Turkana children who were measured in this period tended to be small at birth but grew rapidly in their first 6-8 months, when they compared favorably with international growth standards. After this age and through the beginning of their third year, they experienced a marked deceleration in growth velocity, which was more pronounced for weight than for stature (Little et al, 1983(Little et al, , 1993Little and Gray, 1990;Gray, 1996Gray, , 1998Pike, 1996). In middle and late childhood, Turkana boys and girls were small and thin for their age; typically, they were below the 5th percentile of international growth standards in both weight and stature until puberty (Little and Johnson, 1987;Little and Gray, 1990), when they appeared to ''shift'' from below the 5th percentile of international standards for stature (Hammill et al, 1979) to between the 25th and 50th percentiles.…”