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Inequality represents an extreme environment to which humans must respond. One phenomenon that contributes to this growing extreme is precarity or the intersection of uncertainty and some form of inequality. While precarity has an important intellectual history in the fields of sociology and sociocultural anthropology, it has not been well studied in the field of human biology. Rather human biologists have engaged with the study of closely related concepts such as uncertainty and resource insecurity. In this article, we propose that human biology take on the study of precarity as a novel way of investigating inequality. We first provide a brief intellectual history of precarity which is followed by a review of research on uncertainty and resource security in human biology which, while not exhaustive, illustrates some key gaps that precarity may aid us in addressing. We then review some of the pathways through which precarity comes to affect human biology and health and some of the evidence for why the unpredictable nature of precarity may make it a unique physiological stress. A case study based on research in Nuñoa, Peru provides an important example of how precarity can elucidate the influences of health in an extreme setting, albeit with insights that apply more broadly. We conclude that precarity holds important potential for the study of human biology, including helping us more effectively operationalize and study uncertainty, encouraging us to explore the predictability of resources and stressors, and reminding us to think about the intersectional nature of stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Chronic malnutrition remains a persistent global health issue. This mixed methods investigation in rural Peru examines the role of home food production (HFP) in reducing child malnutrition by testing the following hypotheses: (a) higher HFP will be associated with higher infant z‐scores than those with less HFP and (b) infants with higher HFP will exhibit improved longitudinal growth outcomes across 6 months. Methods: Ethnographic methods include semi‐structured interviews and participant observation. A household survey and anthropometric data were collected twice, from 86 infants under of 24 months old. A HFP index (HFI) was generated based on reports of animals for meat consumption, eggs, milk, and agricultural products for home consumption. Kruskal‐Wallis tests were used to examine patterns of HFI and infant anthropometrics. Multivariate regressions were used to examine the relationships between HFP and infant height for age (HAZ), weight for age (WAZ), and triceps skinfold for age (TSAZ) in both rounds and 6‐month change between rounds (6MΔ). Results: There were no relationships between HFI and infant z‐scores in round one, however, HFI was significantly positively related to HAZ (B = 0.091, P <.039) in round two and with 6MΔ in HAZ (B = 0.09, P <.047). HFI did not predict WAZ or TSAZ in either round. Conclusions: HFP represents an important influence of infant growth in Nuñoa, likely through nutritional improvement due to increased availability of animal‐sourced foods and through contribution to household economy and maternal empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Changing economic activities bring significant cultural, epidemiological, and nutritional transitions. Infancy represents a critical period when rapid growth and metabolic programming occur, making infants particularly vulnerable to long-lasting biological changes due to such transitions. This paper examines the relationship between residence in distinct economic production zones (urban, herding, and dairy) and early growth in a highland district of Peru. Methods The length, weight, body mass index, and triceps skinfold of 93 infants (55 boys and 38 girls, aged 2 to 24 months) from 3 economic zones were measured at two time points 6 months apart. Z-scores were calculated based on the WHO Growth Reference for children under 5 years of age. Comparisons were made to the reference group and between economic zones to examine the impacts of different economic activities on infant growth. Results Female infants had significantly higher height-for-age z-scores (HAZ) than males ( P < 0.05). Across zones, dairying infants had the highest HAZ scores and the lowest prevalence of stunting. There was a significant association between zone and HAZ at baseline. While these associations were attenuated in measurements, taken 6 months later, longitudinal growth monitoring revealed differential patterns of weight gain and adiposity deposition across the zones with herding infants showing consistent high adiposity and urban infants gaining both weight and adiposity between rounds. Discussion Changes in economic activity are bringing about nutritional and epidemiological transitions in the Nuñoa district. Economic activity is a key factor influencing early growth with distinct longitudinal growth patterns in each economic zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of syndemics provides an important framework for understanding the complex interactions of biological and social conditions. Its use in public health and epidemiological research has increased substantially in the past ten years. Many syndemic analyses rely on the use of a sum score and subsequently fail to demonstrate biological interaction, leading some scholars to question the utility of the syndemic approach. Here, we utilize data from 86 mother/infant pairs from the rural district of Nuñoa, Peru to test a potential syndemic relationship among infection, malnutrition and infant growth. Between 2014 and 2015, surveys were conducted to assess household wealth, sanitation, dietary diversity, and reported illness, while anthropometric measures of mothers and infants were conducted to assess nutritional status via height-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores. Ethnographic insight was used in the selection of key economic variables including the development of an agricultural wealth index. We then assessed whether this constellation of health outcomes met the criteria for a syndemic by performing a quantitative analysis in which we tested for (1) an association between economic marginalization and high-risk environments; (2) the concentration of malnutrition, poor growth, and infection; and (3) biological interaction among these health outcomes. We found that economic measures were associated with pathogenic and nutritional risk, and that these in turn were associated with infectious disease, nutritional status, and growth. However, we did not find evidence that the proposed syndemic met criteria (2) or (3). We conclude that, despite being both socially and biologically plausible, a syndemic of malnutrition, poor growth, and infection did not exist in this context. This analysis moves syndemic research forward by demonstrating that such hypotheses are falsifiable, thus presenting a process by which they may be tested and lending support to the use of syndemic theory as an effective analytic framework. • Economic measures are associated with infectious disease, nutritional status, and growth. • No evidence for the concentration of malnutrition, poor growth, and infection. • No evidence of biological interactions among malnutrition, poor growth, and infection. • We demonstrate the falsifiability of syndemic hypotheses thus showing their utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Relatively little is known about sources of variation in human breastmilk composition. Previous research posits that composition may be affected by the low oxygen environment found at high altitude (HA). Our objective is to compare the milk composition of a sample of HA Andeans to previously published data on HA Tibetans and low altitude (LA) Peruvians., Methods: Mid-feed milk samples were collected from 22 women and tested for lipid, carbohydrate and protein content in addition to dietary surveys and anthropometric measures. We examined relationships between maternal and infant characteristics (maternal BMI, adiposity, age, skinfold thickness, infant age) and milk composition using multiple regression analyses. A Welch-Satterthause t-test was used to compare summary measures from Andean sample and Tibetan samples., Results: Milk fat, sugar, and true protein content were correlated with different maternal and infant characteristics, with only waist to hip ratio negatively affecting fat and positively affecting sugar content in full models. Nuñoan and LA Peruvian milk exhibited significantly lower lactose levels (6.01 ± .89 g/100 mL and 6.38 ± 0.03 g/100 mL) than Tibetans (7.25 ± 0.35 g/100 mL). Fat content among Nuñoans was similar to that of Tibetans (4.5 ± 0.78 g/100 mL and 4.6 ± 1.51 g/100 mL, respectively), and higher than those of LA Peruvians., Conclusions: Both HA populations demonstrate relatively high fat content and both Peruvian samples exhibited relatively higher protein and lower lactose than Tibetan samples, suggesting that both population-based differences in feeding behavior and climatic differences may influence composition., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Objectives: Nuñoa, Peru has been the site of anthropological research on human adaptability, growth, and health since the 1960s. Previous studies documented a nascent secular trend in growth between 1964 and 1984. However, no secular trend was evident when the population was re-examined in 1999, following an intervening period of sociopolitical upheaval. Subsequently, the region experienced considerable economic development reflected in secular increases in height. We seek to evaluate trends in growth and BMI among Nuñoan children over 50 years., Materials and Methods: Anthropometric data for 929 children collected in 2015 are compared with anthropometric data for 394 children from 1964, 912 children from 1984, and 292 children from 1999. The data were converted to z-scores using the WHO 2007 growth standards. anova is used to evaluate rates of stunting, underweight, overweight, and obesity across the study periods., Results: We observe small increases in stature and weight between the 1960s and 1980s, almost no change between the 1980s and 1990s and statistically significant reductions in stunting and increases in height between the 1990s and 2015., Discussion: There were relatively small differences in stature and weight and a high incidence of stunting between 1964 and 1999 attributed to extremely poor economic and health conditions. A large secular increase in height (7-8 cm on average) and consequent reduction in rates of stunting between 1999 and 2015 occurred due to improved social and economic conditions. In addition to political stabilization, enhanced infrastructure, social aid programs, improved healthcare, and economic expansion contribute to these trends., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)