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G H Pelto

Publications and source records attributed to G H Pelto.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

The nutritional phenotype in the age of metabolomics.

The concept of the nutritional phenotype is proposed as a defined and integrated set of genetic, proteomic, metabolomic, functional, and behavioral factors that, when measured, form the basis for assessment of human nutritional status. The nutritional phenotype integrates the effects of diet on disease/wellness and is the quantitative indication of the paths by which genes and environment exert their effects on health. Advances in technology and in fundamental biological knowledge make it possible to define and measure the nutritional phenotype accurately in a cross section of individuals with various states of health and disease. This growing base of data and knowledge could serve as a resource for all scientific disciplines involved in human health. Nutritional sciences should be a prime mover in making key decisions that include: what environmental inputs (in addition to diet) are needed; what genes/proteins/metabolites should be measured; what end-point phenotypes should be included; and what informatics tools are available to ask nutritionally relevant questions. Nutrition should be the major discipline establishing how the elements of the nutritional phenotype vary as a function of diet. Nutritional sciences should also be instrumental in linking the elements that are responsive to diet with the functional outcomes in organisms that derive from them. As the first step in this initiative, a prioritized list of genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic as well as functional and behavioral measures that defines a practically useful subset of the nutritional phenotype for use in clinical and epidemiological investigations must be developed. From this list, analytic platforms must then be identified that are capable of delivering highly quantitative data on these endpoints. This conceptualization of a nutritional phenotype provides a concrete form and substance to the recognized future of nutritional sciences as a field addressing diet, integrated metabolism, and health.

Diet↗
PubMed2004

Pulque intake during pregnancy and lactation in rural Mexico: alcohol and child growth from 1 to 57 months.

OBJECTIVE: To examine maternal intake of a mildly alcoholic beverage (pulque) during pregnancy and lactation, and its potential effect on postpartum child growth and attained size. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study that followed mothers (during pregnancy and lactation) and their offspring (from birth to approximately 57 months of age). SETTING: Six villages in rural, central Mexico. SUBJECTS: Subjects are 58 mother-child pairs. Pulque intake was measured as part of a dietary assessment that was conducted for 2days/month during pregnancy and early lactation. RESULTS: Most mothers consumed pulque during pregnancy (69.0%) and lactation (72.4%). Among pulque drinkers, the average ethanol intake was 125.1 g/week during pregnancy and 113.8 g/week during lactation. Greater pulque intake during lactation, independent of intake during pregnancy, was associated with slower weight and linear growth from 1 to 57 months, and smaller attained size at 57 months. Low-to-moderate pulque intake during pregnancy, in comparison to either nonconsumption or heavy intake, was also associated with greater stature at 57 months. CONCLUSIONS: Pulque intake during lactation may have adversely influenced postnatal growth in this population. Public health interventions are urgently needed in Mexico to reduce heavy intake of pulque by pregnant and lactating women, and to replace intake with foods that provide the vitamins and minerals present in the traditional alcoholic beverage.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Metabolomics in the opening decade of the 21st century: building the roads to individualized health.

It is rapidly becoming possible to measure hundreds or thousands of metabolites in small samples of biological fluids or tissues. This makes it possible to assess the metabolic component of nutritional phenotypes and will allow individualized dietary recommendations. ASNS has to take action to ensure that appropriate technologies are developed and that metabolic databases are constructed with the right inputs and organization. The relations between diet and metabolomic profiles and between those profiles and health and disease must be established. ASNS also should consider the social implications of these advances and plan for their appropriate utilization.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Maternal consumption of pulque, a traditional central Mexican alcoholic beverage: relationships to infant growth and development.

OBJECTIVES: To document the consumption during pregnancy of pulque, a traditional central Mexican alcoholic beverage, and its relationship to subsequent infant size, physical growth and performance on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Six villages in rural, central Mexico in 1984-1985. SUBJECTS: Seventy mother-infant pairs. RESULTS: Most women (72.9%) consumed pulque during pregnancy, and 28.6% consumed more than 150 g ethanol week(-1) from the beverage. Individuals who consumed pulque showed no compensating decrease in energy obtained from other foods. Pulque consumption possessed curvilinear relationships with both infant length (at 1 and 6 months) and Bayley mental performance (at 6 months). Heavy pulque intakes were associated with smaller infant size and poorer mental performance. In modest quantities, pulque consumption may have been beneficial due to its micronutrient content. CONCLUSIONS: Intakes of alcohol from pulque were common among pregnant women in these rural, central Mexican villages. Given current scientific knowledge of the adverse effects of ethanol on foetal development, public health interventions are needed to reduce heavy pulque consumption during pregnancy in some areas of rural Mexico.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Examining the gender gap in nutrition: an example from rural Mexico.

Gender differences in nutrient and food intake were examined in Mexican Nutrition CRSP (Collaborative Research Support Program) infants (N = 75), preschoolers (N = 80), and school children (N = 91). No significant gender differences in dietary quality or quantity were seen for infants and preschoolers. For school children, the contribution of various foods to total energy intake (dietary quality) was also quite similar for girls and boys. Equity in dietary quality remained even under conditions of economic and demographic stress. Nevertheless, school girls consumed significantly less energy per day than boys (-300 kcal/d or 1.3 mJ/d), and less of all micronutrients examined. Gender differences in estimated basal metabolic rates of school children were slight (-20 kcal/d), and body composition and size were similar. When energy intakes were expressed as a percent of estimated requirement (calculated from age, sex and weight using WHO/FAO/UNU equations), intakes were adequate and not significantly different between girls (mean = 111%) and boys (mean = 113%). Playground observations showed girls to be less active than boys, which may reflect both cultural and biological influences. Apparently due to this lower activity, school girls consumed less energy, and may have been at much higher risk than boys of micronutrient deficiency. The lower food intakes of girls did not appear to be due to purposeful dietary discrimination, but rather to culturally patterned sex roles involving lower activity.

Basal Metabolism↗
PubMed1997

Studying knowledge, culture, and behavior in applied medical anthropology.

In this article we argue that the concept of knowledge, as utilized by public health professionals, is best regarded as cultural belief, as defined in anthropology. The implications of this position are explored, particularly as it relates to the development of a decision-making approach to the understanding and analysis of health care behavior. The methodological challenges posed by the new theoretical perspective that has emerged from the emphasis on decision making is discussed from the perspective of applied research. The role of focused ethnographic studies is examined and contrasted with ethnomedicine and survey approaches. Some main features of focused ethnographic methods are described and illustrated with a case example of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in Gambia.

Anthropology, Cultural↗
PubMed1996

Determinants of body size perceptions and dieting behavior in a multiethnic group of hospital staff women.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to identify determinants of body size perceptions and their relationship to dietary behavior in a multiethnic group of women. DESIGN: A single interview consisting of the Massara and Stunkard body image cards (1979) and questionnaires on sociocultural background, anthropometry, and dieting history were administered to volunteers from the staff of a hospital. SUBJECTS: The sample was a convenience sample of 186 women representing a range of staff positions recruited from Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, NY; 174 completed the study. Data on 150 women are presented in this article. RESULTS: Height and weight-for-height were stronger predictors of accuracy of perceived body size than ethnicity. Tall, slight women were more likely to overestimate and short, heavy women were more likely to underestimate actual body size. Ethnicity had an interactive effect with height as taller European Americans were more likely to perceive their body size as larger than actual compared with Afro-Caribbeans and African Americans. Women with a history of dieting were more likely to overestimate their size and to view it as different from what is perceived as attractive to others. APPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results, we conclude that body size is a stronger predictor of accuracy of perceived body size than ethnicity; and dieters overestimate their body size and believe it to be heavier than their social group would prefer.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1996

Methodological issues for eliciting local signs/symptoms/illness terms associated with acute respiratory illnesses.

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are among the principal causes of mortality of children under 5 years of age. Most deaths are due to pneumonia, which, when timely identified and properly treated, could be avoided. An effective case management scheme, based on early recognition of pneumonia and prompt antibiotic treatment, relies on early recognition of alarm signs by mothers and community health workers. For mothers to understand and act on advice from health workers, language and concepts commonly used by mothers should be utilized. The present study was carried out to compare the relative effectiveness of two different methods to elicit local terms used by mothers to refer to ARI symptoms/signs/treatments. A comparison was made among the terms elicited by a free listing of common terms mentioned by mothers in relation to ARI, and the terms they recognized when looking at a video that showed children with different ARI signs. The video was shown in a community and a clinical setting, in order to identify strengths and weaknesses of showing it in these settings. The video elicited more signs dealing with serious illness, respiratory distress and general malaise, but missed non-visual signs, such as fever, lack of appetite or pain. Also, mothers tended to be distracted by trivial signs, such as skin color. Free listing was easier to administer and elicited more non-life-threatening symptoms/signs, but mothers were more prone to drift away and mention terms not related to respiratory illness. Showing the video in the clinic elicited more medical-related terms, and was easier to show than in the community. In conclusion, choice of either of the two methods depends on the researcher's purpose. Using both methods produced a larger list of terms associated with ARI.

Academies and Institutes↗
PubMed1994

Focused ethnographic studies in the WHO Programme for the Control of Acute Respiratory Infections.

Focused Ethnographic Studies (FESs), developed and sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) Programme for the Control of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI), have facilitated ethnographic research dedicated to determining key household behaviors and understandings surrounding respiratory infections--particularly pneumonia--in children. The FES design emphasizes anthropological theory and methods while limiting the scope and duration of fieldwork to a specific "program-relevant" research problem. Findings from FES studies provide evidence of the rich vocabulary of ARI-related signs and concepts, and the interplay of structural and cultural factors that affect care-seeking for children with pneumonia.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

Iron, vitamin B-12 and folate status in Mexico: associated factors in men and women and during pregnancy and lactation.

To determine the prevalence and causes of anemia in rural Mexico, blood samples and longitudinal dietary data were collected from 187 women, some pregnant and then lactating, and from 72 men. Blood was used to measure anemia, mean cell volume, and plasma ferritin, folate and vitamin B-12. Anemia was found in 33% of the men, 54% of nonpregnant, nonlactating women, 35% of pregnant women and 41% of lactating women, and varied by season. Low iron stores (ferritin) accompanied anemia in only 8% of men compared with 38-67% of women. Low meat intake and poor dietary iron bioavailability were associated with anemia in women. There were no cases of low plasma folate. Low plasma vitamin B-12 was common in all groups, and the incidence increased from 15% at 7 mo of pregnancy to 30% at 7 mo of lactation. Vitamin B-12 was lower in the plasma and milk of anemic lactating women than in plasma and milk of non-anemic lactating women and was classified as deficient in 62% of breast milk samples.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Perceptions of spreading fats among women in Helsinki whose households use only butter or margarine.

This study sought to investigate whether women's perceptions about butter and soft margarine vary by the use of these fats. From interviews in 1984 with 102 middle-aged women from a follow-up dietary survey in Helsinki 27% of their households were classified as exclusive butter users, 46% used both butter and margarine and 27% used only margarine. The women evaluated margarine less "tasty" but "lighter", and "healthier" than butter. Women whose households used butter exclusively rated it more "useful" than those who used margarine, whereas women whose households used exclusively margarine rated it higher on taste than did exclusive butter users. Butter is a valued traditional food in Finland, and probably the taste of butter is still a reference standard for all spreads. Nevertheless some of the respondents had evidently come to like the soft vegetable margarine that was not available in their childhood.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Developing applied medical anthropology in Third World countries: problems and actions.

Recognition of the usefulness of ethnographic research in Third World community health projects and programs developed rapidly during the 1980s. As a result, the various agencies and organizations promoting community health programs (UNICEF, WHO, NGOs) have greatly increased their recruiting of social scientists, particularly medical anthropologists, for research and other programmatic activities in primary health care, child survival (especially diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, maternal and child nutrition, infectious disease, and AIDS). However, it has proved very difficult to identify well-trained anthropologists and/or other social scientists for these roles, particularly in Third World countries. This paper examines some of the background of this problem, and presents examples of methodological training (in both qualitative and quantitative research techniques) that seek to increase the skills of social scientists and other researchers in the arena of international community health.

Anthropology, Cultural↗
PubMed1992

The interactive effects of dietary quality on the growth and attained size of young Mexican children.

Predictors of attained size at 30 mo and growth rate between 18 and 30 mo (eg, diet, maternal size, morbidity, age at weaning, and selected environmental factors) were investigated by using longitudinal data from 67 Mexican children aged 18-30 mo. These children were small because of growth stunting in early infancy. Between 18 and 30 mo they grew on average at the 50th percentile of National Center for Health Statistics references values for weight, and the 25th for length. Size at 30 mo and growth rates were unrelated to energy or protein intakes during the previous year, but positively related to consumption of animal-origin foods. Maternal weight predicted size and growth only for children with larger intakes of animal products. Individual rates of weight and length growth were uncorrelated on average, correlated negatively when animal-product intake was low, and positively only when more animal products were consumed. Integrated weight and length growth, and the influence of maternal size on growth, may be disrupted by poor dietary quality. Different children would be identified as malnourished depending on whether weight or length growth was measured.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1991

Household size, food intake and anthropometric status of school-age children in a highland Mexican area.

Large household size is widely regarded as a risk factor for malnutrition in developing countries, particularly for infants and young children. This study examines the extent to which household size is related to nutritional status in school-age children in the Solis Valley in highland Mexico. The relationships of food intake, anthropometric measures, and household size are assessed in a sample of 110 children (7-9 years of age), who were followed longitudinally for a minimum of one year as part of the Collaborative Research Support Program on Food Intake and Human Function. Diets in the valley are characterized by very low intake of animal food products and are heavily dependent on maize, which is primarily home-produced. Growth faltering is pervasive; the mean Z score for height-for-age in the sample is--1.6 of the NCHS reference standard. Children from larger households are significantly shorter and consume diets of poorer quality, as assessed by intake of foods from animal sources. These relationships remain statistically significant in regression analyses that control for household economic status. It therefore appears that the resources available to households in the Solis Valley are inadequate to buffer children in even more advantaged households from the stresses of maintaining large families.

Anthropometry↗