Physical growth and nutritional status of Tsimane' Amerindian children of lowland Bolivia

Abstract

This study examines patterns of growth and nutritional status of indigenous Tsimane' children under 9 years of age (n = 199 boys and 210 girls), based on a cross-sectional sample from 58 villages from the Beni Deparment of lowland Bolivia. Compared with US children, Tsimane' children are quite short, with linear growth tracking at or below the US 5th centile in both sexes. The prevalence of low height-for-age ("stunting;" HA Z-scores </=-2) is 52% in boys and 43% in girls. In contrast, weight-for-height in Tsimane' children approximates the US median, with the prevalence of low weight-for-height ("wasting"; WH Z-scores </=-2) being only 4% and 6% in boys and girls, respectively. Tsimane' boys and girls are leaner than their US peers, but their levels of body fatness are not so low as to indicate severe energy stress. Arm muscularity of Tsimane' children is similar to that of their US age peers, and this suggests that they are not experiencing acute protein malnutrition. Variation in measures of nutritional status of Tsimane' children is modestly correlated with village-level differences. Degree of isolation, as measured by distance to urban centers or to primary forest, was not a strong predictor of children's anthropometric status. Rather, in both boys and girls, nutritional status was most strongly associated with number of teachers in the village, a measure of access to education. Comparative analyses indicate that high levels of statural growth stunting are common among indigenous populations throughout lowland South America. This problem appears to be largely attributable to poor dietary quality (diets low in key micronutrients) and high disease loads. Further research is needed to identify the specific causes and potential interventions for the high rates of childhood growth stunting in this region.

Nutritional status of Amerindian children from the Beni River (lowland Bolivia) as related to environmental, maternal and dietary factors

“…This is a common observation in Latin America, where wasting prevalence is low 23 . Compared with other Amazonian studies, the stunting prevalence rate in our pre-school children (41%) and school-age children (36%) was lower than that reported for the Tsimane of Beni (47%) 7 and the Tukanoan and Achuar of Ecuador (60-70%) 24 . Nevertheless, the stunting prevalence was worse than in Naporunas (23%) 25 , Sionas-Secoya children in Ecuador (32%) 26 and children from Beni and Pando studied by the DHS 6 .…”

“…However, progress has not been evenly distributed, and profound differences exist between rural and urban areas (stunting prevalence: 35.6% rural vs. 18.3% urban) 6 . The prevalence may be even higher in indigenous groups, as suggested by a recent investigation carried out in the Amazon region which reported a prevalence of chronic malnutrition of 43-52% among the Tsimane 7 . Anthropometry is the most simple and reliable method for characterising nutritional status.…”

Fatness and overweight in women and children from riverine Amerindian communities of the Beni River (Bolivian Amazon)

“…Likewise, a phenotype associating short stature with normal weight or slight 20 overweight in children has already been described in other Amazonian communities (Benefice and Barral 1991;Capelli and Koifman 2001;Mattos and others 1999;Santos and Coimbra Junior 22 1991), and in the Bolivian Amazon (Foster and others 2005).…”

Implications of market integration for cardiovascular and metabolic health among an indigenous Amazonian Ecuadorian population

“…The few studies that do exist document variable effects of greater MI on child growth (Foster et al 2005;Blackwell et al 2009;Piperata et al 2011), as well as higher rates of cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors such as obesity and elevated plasma glucose (Pavan et al 1999;Tavares et al 2003;Lindegärde et al 2004Lindegärde et al , 2006Lu 2007;Valeggia et al 2010). Further, previous research among native South Americans has generally focused on single markers of cardiovascular or metabolic health (e.g.…”