Nutritional status, growth and physical fitness of modern hunter-gatherer children: revisit on child health from evolutionary perspectives

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25305003
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 海外学術
• Research Field: Childhood science (childhood environment science)
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: Yamauchi Taro 北海道大学, 保健学研究科, 教授 (70345049)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KAWAMURA Kyohei 山梨大学, 教育人間科学部, 教授 (60126646) ; KAWABE Toshio 高崎経済大学, 地域政策学部, 教授 (80169763)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 狩猟採集社会 / 子ども / 人類進化 / 栄養摂取 / 身体活動

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Nutritional status, growth and physical fitness were evaluated for children of hunter-gatherers who lived in the African rainforest (Cameroon) and the South Pacific Islands (Papua New Guinea). Overall, the children had good nutritional status. Their daily travel distance increased with age, and inter-individual differences expanded when they grew to adolescents. This tendency was more pronounced in boys than in girls. Surprisingly, the mean daily step counts for the hunter-gatherer children was more than 20,000 steps for both boys and girls, which greatly exceeded the international standard. In other words, hunter-gatherer children walked considerably more than their counterparts living in modern societies. The results of physical fitness tests suggest that the test items widely used in our societies could underestimate the physical fitness of the hunter-gatherer children.

Free Research Field

人類生態学