Home › Resources › Article Archive ›

Article Archive: Body Composition

Anthropometric correlates of C-reactive protein among indigenous Siberians
Alekseev VP, Krivoshapkin VG, Leonard WR, McDade TW, Snodgrass JJ, Sorensen MV, Tarskaia LA
J Physiol Anthropol 26(2):241-6
1 March 2007
Link to Article

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory marker, which at low-level elevations is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Although CRP has been extensively investigated in North American and European settings, few studies have measured CRP among non-Western groups. The present study used dried whole blood spot samples to examine high-sensitivity CRP concentrations among the Yakut (Sakha) of Siberia (85 females, 56 males; 18-58 years old). Our goals were: (1) to compare Yakut CRP concentrations with other populations; (2) to investigate sex differences; and (3) to explore anthropometric correlates of CRP. Results indicate that serum equivalent CRP concentrations are similar to those from industrializing nations, lower than US and European values, and greater than Japanese concentrations. Yakut men and women display similar CRP concentrations; however, CRP was significantly higher among men after adjustment for body fat, age, and smoking. Positive associations were documented between CRP and BMI, body fat, and central adiposity.

Academic Articles by NU Faculty
Adolescent, Adult, Body Composition, C-Reactive Protein/metabolism, Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control, European Continental Ancestry Group/statistics & numerical data, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged Obesity/blood, Obesity/epidemiology, Obesity/ethnology, Obesity/etiology, Population Groups, Siberia/epidemiology
Nutritional status and spousal empowerment among native Amazonians
Godoy RA, Leonard WR, McDade T, Patel A, Reyes-García V, Seyfried CF Jr, Tanner S, Vadez V
Soc Sci Med 63(6):1517-30
1 September 2006
Link to Article

Researchers and development organizations have shown interest in individual empowerment because it presumably improves well-being. Estimates of empowerment's effects on well-being contain biases from the potential endogeneity of empowerment. Using data from a sexually egalitarian and highly autarkic society of foragers and horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon, the Tsimane', we overcome the problems that this poses by: (1) matching spouses' responses to the same questions about who makes decisions or who breaks ties in 10 domains to improve accuracy in measures of empowerment; and (2) using parental attributes of spouses as instrumental variables for spousal empowerment. Outcomes include two anthropometric indices of short-run nutritional status: body-mass index and age and sex-standardized z scores of mid-arm muscle area. The amount of empowerment of household heads did not affect their nutritional status or other indicators of their well-being, such as income, wealth, expenditures, happiness, social capital, or self-perceived health. It also did not affect the nutritional status of their offspring. Nor did it affect the difference in income, wealth, or monetary expenditures between spouses. The insubstantial effects persisted with other definitions of empowerment or types of regressions. We end with a discussion of why empowerment, despite its popularity in development discourse, has such tenuous links with objective indicators of well-being, and the implication of this finding for future studies of empowerment's effects.

Academic Articles by NU Faculty
Adult, Asian Continental Ancestry Group/statistics & numerical data, Basal Metabolism, Body Composition, Body Size, Calorimetry, Deuterium Oxide/diagnostic use, Energy Metabolism, Female, Humans, Indirect, Life Style, Male, Middle Aged, Motor Activity, Physical Exertion, Sex Factors, Siberia
The emergence of obesity among indigenous Siberians
Alekseev VP, Krivoshapkin V, Leonard WR, Snodgrass JJ, Sorensen MV, Tarskaia LA
Journal of physiological anthropology 25(1):75-84
1 January 2006
Link to Article

Once considered a disease of affluence and confined to industrialized nations, obesity is currently emerging as a major health concern in nearly every country in the world. Available data suggest that the prevalence rate of obesity has reached unprecedented levels in most developing countries, and is increasing at a rate that far outpaces that of developed nations. This increase in obesity has also been documented among North American circumpolar populations and is associated with lifestyle changes related to economic development. While obesity has not been well studied among indigenous Siberians, recent anthropological studies indicate that obesity and its associated comorbidities are important health problems.The present study examines recent adult body composition data from four indigenous Siberian populations (Evenki, Ket, Buriat, and Yakut) with two main objectives: 1) to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among these groups, and 2) to assess the influence of lifestyle and socioeconomic factors on the development of excess body fat. The results of this study indicate that obesity has emerged as an important health issue among indigenous Siberians, and especially for women, whose obesity rates are considerably higher than those of men (12% vs. 7%). The present study investigated the association between lifestyle and body composition among the Yakut, and documented substantial sex differences in lifestyle correlates of obesity. Yakut men with higher incomes and who owned more luxury consumer goods were more likely to have excess body fat while, among Yakut women, affluence was not strongly associated with overweight and obesity.

Academic Articles by NU Faculty
80 and over, Adolescent, Adult, Age Distribution, Aged, Body Composition, Body Mass Index, Causality, Diet/statistics & numerical data, Female, Humans, Life Style, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity/ethnology, Population Groups/statistics & numerical data, Prevalence, Risk Factors, Sex Distribution, Siberia/epidemiology, Socioeconomic Factors
The influence of basal metabolic rate on blood pressure among indigenous Siberians
Leonard WR, Mosher MJ, Snodgrass JJ, Sorensen MV, Tarskaia LA
Am J Phys Anthropol 137(2):145-55
1 October 2008
Link to Article

Hypertension is an important global health issue and is currently increasing at a rapid pace in most industrializing nations. Although a number of risk factors have been linked with the development of hypertension, including obesity, high dietary sodium, and chronic psychosocial stress, these factors cannot fully explain the variation in blood pressure and hypertension rates that occurs within and between populations. The present study uses data collected on adults from three indigenous Siberian populations (Evenki, Buryat, and Yakut [Sakha]) to test the hypothesis of Luke et al. (Hypertension 43 (2004) 555-560) that basal metabolic rate (BMR) and blood pressure are positively associated independent of body size. When adjusted for body size and composition, as well as potentially confounding variables such as age, smoking status, ethnicity, and degree of urbanization, BMR was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP; P < 0.01) and pulse pressure (PP; P < 0.01); BMR showed a trend with diastolic blood pressure (DBP; P = 0.08). Thus, higher BMR is associated with higher SBP and PP; this is opposite the well-documented inverse relationship between physical activity and blood pressure. If the influence of BMR on blood pressure is confirmed, the systematically elevated BMRs of indigenous Siberians may help explain the relatively high blood pressures and hypertension rates documented among native Siberians in the post-Soviet period. These findings underscore the importance of considering the influence of biological adaptation to regional environmental conditions in structuring health changes associated with economic development and lifestyle change.

Academic Articles by NU Faculty
Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Asian Continental Ancestry Group, Basal Metabolism, Blood Pressure, Body Composition, Body Size, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Hypertension/epidemiology, Hypertension/etiology, Male, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Siberia
Total energy expenditure in the Yakut (Sakha) of Siberia as measured by the doubly labeled water method
Leonard WR, Schoeller DA, Snodgrass JJ, Tarskaia LA
Am J Clin Nutr 84(4):798-806
1 October 2006
Link to Article

BACKGROUND: Populations in transition to a Western lifestyle display increased incidences of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases; the mechanisms responsible for these changes, however