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Physiological Differences Across Populations Reflecting Early Life and Later Life Nutritional Status and Later Life Risk for Chronic Disease

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Abstract

This paper addresses how indicators of early life nutrition and development and later life nutrition vary in aging populations in the U.S., England, Mexico, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and the Tsimane of Bolivia. These populations span a wide range of current life expectancy and infant mortality when they were young. The indicators of nutritional problems are related to both current life expectancy and to levels of past infant mortality. The indicators of past and present nutrition are also related to a set of risk factors for chronic disease including the ratio of Total Cholesterol to High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, level of glycosylated hemoglobin, pulse pressure, and C-reactive protein. Results indicate that current obesity is associated with significantly higher levels of most risk factors in most settings. On the other hand, stunting in childhood is not related consistently to any of the indicators of current risk. Social and demographic differences in risk vary across settings. Future increases in obesity around the world are likely to be related to increasing risk for the chronic conditions of old age.

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Acknowledgments

Grants from the U.S. National Institute on Aging have partially supported this research: P30 AG17265 and R24 AG037898.

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The author has no conflict of interest.

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  1. Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0191, USA

    Eileen M. Crimmins

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Correspondence to Eileen M. Crimmins.

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Crimmins, E.M. Physiological Differences Across Populations Reflecting Early Life and Later Life Nutritional Status and Later Life Risk for Chronic Disease. Population Ageing 8, 51–69 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-014-9109-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-014-9109-4

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