engleski

Intergenerational and Transnational Correlates of Health for Bangladeshi Adult Daughters and Their Mothers: Project MINA

Project MINA explores the relation between migration, nutrition and ageing of Bangladeshi women. The Bangladeshi community in the United Kingdom (UK) is thriving. However, many of its members are socially disadvantaged and suffer from high levels of disability, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Little is known about the causes. We use a Life History Theory perspective to analyse trade-offs in growth, reproduction and aging in a sample of 40 mothers (45+ years old) who migrated to the UK, 36 of their daughters (18-35 years old) born in the UK and 22 mother-daughter pairs of the same two age groups in Bangladesh (BD). All women are of short stature (X=150.5 cm, sd=6.4), with no significant differences between or within generations or countries. The UK sample has relatively greater knee height for stature, indicating that immigrant mothers and their UK born daughters had better health in infancy and childhood. All measures of fatness and arm muscle area are significantly larger in the UK women. This indicates greater energy intake, less energy expenditure or both for UK women. The mean age at marriage for mothers (16.4 years, sd=52.9) is significantly less than that for daughters (18.6 years, sd=52.7). A 7- component lower body physical function test for older adults finds that BD mothers have significantly better total scores than UK mothers. Greater age at first birth and time lag between marriage and first birth are associated with greater physical function score. The results indicate that trade-offs in reproduction and energy balance do impact health and ageing. Sponsor: Economic & Social Research Council, New Dynamics of Ageing Programme, UK, Grant Number: RES-354-25-0002.

Migration, Nutrition, Ageing, Bangladesh, United Kingdom

Sažetak rada predstavljenog na skupu: The 80th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. 12-16 April 2011. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA: American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA).