WAAT: “Intergenerational Effects of Undernutrition: Challenges for Global Health Equity” by Dr. Haley Ragsdale
WAAT: Weekday Afternoon Anthropology Talks
October 14, 2024
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
BSB 2105
Calendar
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Our next WAAT will be delivered by Dr. Haley Ragsdale, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Anthropology Department here at UIC. Lunch will be provided.
Birth weight is a major predictor of morbidity and mortality throughout the life course, reflecting the importance of prenatal development for long-term health. Smaller birth size is associated with increased risk of childhood growth stunting and decreased likelihood of recovery from stunting, compounding poor health trajectories. Unfortunately, even substantial increases in maternal calorie intake in pregnancy generally have weak or negligible effects on offspring birth weight. To the contrary, evidence suggests that maternal early life nutrition and growth history are stronger predictors of fetal growth than pregnancy diet. These observations raise questions about how early, chronic nutrition induces effects that can persist over decades and then influence pregnancy. Given the downstream impacts of low birth weight and growth stunting on individuals and populations, understanding the pre-pregnancy determinants of fetal growth is essential to address global health disparities. Here, I present findings demonstrating specific effects of maternal early growth patterns on offspring development and discuss the implications of this phenomenon for global health equity.
Date posted
Oct 8, 2024
Date updated
Oct 8, 2024