Waist-to-hip ratio, body-mass index, age and number of children in seven traditional societies

Scientific Reports. 2017. Vol. 7. No. 1622. P. 1–9.

Butovskaya M.

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.

Keywords: reproductive success, number of children ever born, traditional societies, waist-to-hip ratio