Doctoral Dissertation Research: Production and Reproduction: The Energetics of Lactation Among Tropical Horticulturists in the Lower Brazilian Amazon

这项研究的目的是了解生活在巴西亚马逊河下游的体力活动妇女如何适应哺乳期增加的能量需求，以及她们的选择对自身健康和婴儿健康的影响。 哺乳期是繁殖过程中最需要精力的部分，而成功的繁殖是适应的一个最重要的方面。 从进化和健康的角度来看，女性如何满足这种额外的能量需求都很重要。 在发达国家，妇女往往通过增加饮食摄入量或减少活动量来满足哺乳期的额外需求。然而，生活在发展中国家的妇女，特别是从事自给农业的妇女，可能没有这些选择。 在后一种情况下，女性可能更依赖于体内脂肪储存或进行代谢适应，以减少能量消耗。 为了了解这些妇女所使用的适应策略，将在泌乳早期、高峰期和晚期测量她们的饮食摄入量、能量消耗和身体组成的数据。 除了这些生物数据外，还将收集文化数据，以确定在这一时期可能影响妇女的潜在文化习俗。 通过研究与我们祖先的身体活动模式更接近的女性哺乳期的能量学，我们有机会增加我们对人类生殖生物学和生殖系统灵活性的理解。 此外，这项研究将提供关于育龄妇女健康及其饮食和活动模式的信息，这些信息可为该地区潜在的发展项目提供信息。

The goal of this research is to understand how physically active women living in the lower Brazilian Amazon adapt to the increased energy demands of lactation and the impact of their choices on their own health and the health of their infants. Lactation is the most energetically demanding portion of reproduction and successful reproduction is a most important aspect of adaptation. How women meet this additional energy demand is important from both evolutionary and health perspectives. In developed countries women often meet the additional demands of lactation by increasing their dietary intake or decreasing their activity levels. However, these options may not be available to women living in developing nations, especially those who practice subsistence agriculture. In the latter case, women may be more reliant on their body fat stores or on making metabolic adaptations that would allow them to decrease their energy expenditure. In order to understand the adaptive strategies being used by these women, data on their dietary intake, energy expenditure and body composition will be measured during early, peak and late lactation. In addition to these biological data, cultural data will also be collected to identify potential cultural practices that may impact women during this period of time. By studying the energetics of lactation in women with physical activity patterns closer to those of our ancestors, we have the opportunity to increase our understanding of human reproductive biology and the flexibility of our reproductive system. In addition, this study will provide information on the health of women of reproductive age, as well as on their diets and activity patterns, which can inform potential development projects in the area.