Nutritional Ecology and Infectious Disease
Interactions between under-nutrition and infection lead to patterns of growth faltering that begin from about the age of weaning. Growth faltering is common in developing countries and usually is associated with high mortality rates. It is largely due to the combined stresses of low nutrient intakes and exposure to infectious agents associated with the introduction of foods other than breast milk and the weaning process. While easy to describe generally, the combined influence of under-nutrition and infection on growth and development is complex, varying with disease ecology, age of the child, and the type and pattern of infant and young child feeding. In addition, the duration and severity of infection and repeated infections influences the extent to which disease plays a more dominant role in growth faltering than under-nutrition, while cultural patterns of infection management influence the duration and sometimes the severity of infection.
This project examines the importance of low-grade infections and breastfeeding patterns on growth faltering, in populations experiencing both early growth faltering and high infant mortality. This work has implications for understanding the diversity of disease and nutritional ecologies of both contemporary and past populations. The project has three foci: the impacts and interpretation of under-nutrition and infection on physical growth and development among poor rural communities in the contemporary world; the effects of emerging and changing infectious disease ecologies on human populations; and ecological interpretations of child growth patterns among past populations. This involves collaboration of Prof Stanley Ulijaszek with colleagues at the University of Cambridge.