Effects of a mixed-subsistence diet on the growth of Hadza children

We investigated the preliminary effects of dietary changes on the anthropometric measurements of child and adolescent Hadza foragers.

We conducted a cross-sectional study comparing height and weight of participants (aged 0-17 years) at two time points, 2005 (n = 195) and 2017 (n = 52), from two locations: semi-nomadic "bush camps" and sedentary "village camps". World Health Organization (WHO) calculators were used to generate standardized z-scores for weight-for-height (WHZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ), and BMI-for-age (BMIFAZ). Cross tabulations were constructed for each measurement variable as a function of z-score categories and the variables year, location, and sex.

Residency in a village, and associated mixed-subsistence diet, was associated with favorable growth, including greater WAZ (P < .001), HAZ (P < .001), and BMIFAZ (P = .004), but not WHZ (P = .717). Regardless of residency location, participants showed an improved WAZ (P = .021) and HAZ (P < .001) in the 2017 study year. We found no sex differences.

These preliminary findings suggest that a mixed-subsistence diet may confer advantages over an exclusive wild food diet, a trend also reported among other transitioning foragers.