| Autor: |
Butovskaya M; Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.; Russian State University for Humanities, Moscow, Russia.; Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia., Sorokowska A; Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland.; Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany., Karwowski M; Creative Education Lab, Academy of Special Education, Warsaw, Poland., Sabiniewicz A; Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland., Fedenok J; Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia., Dronova D; Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia., Negasheva M; Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia., Selivanova E; Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia., Sorokowski P; Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland. sorokowskipiotr@yahoo.co.uk. |
| Abstrakt: |
It has been suggested that the preference for low WHRs evolved because low WHR provided a cue to female reproductive status and health, and therefore to her reproductive value. The present study aimed to test whether WHR might indeed be a reliable cue to female reproductive history (with lower WHRs indicating lower number of children). Previous studies showed such a relationship for modern and industrialized populations, but it has not been investigated in natural fertility, indigenous, more energy constrained populations facing greater trade-offs in energy allocation than do modern societies. Our sample comprised 925 women aged 13 to 95 years from seven non-industrial societies including tribes from Sub-Saharan Africa (Hadza, Datoga, and Isanzu), Western Siberia (Ob Ugric people: Khanty and Mansi), South America (Tsimane) and South Asia (Minahasans and Sangirese). We demonstrated a culturally stable, significant relationship between number of children and WHR among women, controlling for BMI and age. Based on these data, we suggest that WHR is a reliable cue to female reproductive history, and we discuss our results in the context of previous studies indicating usefulness of WHR as an indicator of health and fertility. |
