A test of four evolutionary hypotheses of pregnancy food cravings: evidence for the social bargaining model (original) (raw)
Related papers
Evolution and Human Behavior, 2017
Pregnancy increases women's nutritional requirements, yet causes aversions to nutritious foods. Most societies further restrict pregnant women's diet with food taboos. Pregnancy food aversions are theorized to protect mothers and fetuses from teratogens and pathogens or increase dietary diversity in response to resource scarcity. Tests of these hypotheses have had mixed results, perhaps because many studies are in Westernized populations with reliable access to food and low exposure to pathogens. If pregnancy food aversions are adaptations, however, then they likely evolved in environments with uncertain access to food and high exposure to pathogens. Pregnancy food taboos, on the other hand, have been theorized to limit resource consumption, mark social identity, or also protect mothers and fetuses from dangerous foods. There have been few tests of evolutionary theories of culturally transmitted food taboos. We investigated these and other theories of psychophysiological food aversions and culturally transmitted food taboos among two non-Western populations of pregnant women in Mysore, India, that vary in food insecurity and exposure to infectious disease. The first was a mixed caste rural farming population (N=72), and the second was the Jenu Kurubas, a resettled population of former hunter-gatherers (N=30). Women rated their aversions to photos of 31 foods and completed structured interviews that assessed aversions and socially learned avoidances of foods, pathogen exposure, food insecurity, sources of culturally acquired dietary advice, and basic sociodemographic information. Aversions to spicy foods were associated with early trimester and nausea and vomiting, supporting a protective role against plant teratogens. Variation in exposure to pathogens did not explain variation in meat aversions or avoidances, however, raising some doubts about the importance of pathogen avoidance. Aversions to staple foods were common, but were not associated with resource stress, providing mixed support for the role of dietary diversification. Avoided foods outnumbered aversive foods, were believed to be abortifacients or otherwise harmful to the fetus, influenced diet throughout pregnancy, and were largely distinct from aversive foods. These results suggest that aversions target foods with cues of toxicity early in pregnancy, and taboos target suspected abortifacients throughout pregnancy.
Food cravings, aversions and pica among pregnant women in Dar es
2009
Abstract: Food cravings, aversions and pica are common during pregnancy and may have a significant input on pregnancy progress and outcome. A study was carried out to determine the frequency and duration of pronounced dietary cravings, aversions and pica during pregnancy among 204 pregnant and lactating women attending two health facilities in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania. Nausea and vomiting were reported by 82.8 % of all women of which 43.2 % experienced severe nausea alone, 9.5 % severe vomiting alone and 35.5% experienced severe vomiting and nausea. Mild cases of each of the symptoms either occurring alone or both of them occurring together were also reported. Both behaviours were observed more in <3 months of pregnancy. The proportions of women with dietary cravings, aversions, and pica were 73.5%, 70.1 % and 63.7 % of all women respectively. More women (70.1%) experienced both food cravings and aversions than either symptom alone. Foods craved most were meat (23.3%), mangoe...
Pregnancy-related food habits among women of rural Sikkim, India
Public Health Nutrition, 2009
ObjectiveEvery society follows its own traditional health-care beliefs and practices during and after pregnancy, which is intimately linked to its socio-cultural environment. The objective of the present study was to document pregnancy-related food practices and the social-cultural factors linked with them.DesignThe present study was a cross-sectional one conducted among a group of women residing in five villages in east Sikkim, India. Mothers who had given birth to a child one year before the survey participated in the study. The mothers answered a pre-tested questionnaire on food habits and practices followed antepartum and for 6 weeks postpartum.SubjectsThe study group consisted of 199 women of Nepali caste groups with variations in economic condition.ResultsMore than 86 % of mothers consumed special foods during the postpartum period. Taboos on different food categories during the postpartum were reported only by 65·3 % of mothers. Factors found to be significantly associated wi...
Background: Eating nutritionally balanced foods during pregnancy is very essential. In India, dietary habits of pregnant women are highly influenced by food fads, cultural taboos, customs and religious beliefs. Very minimum data is available on the dietary intake of pregnant and postpartum nutritional practices in India. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the existing beliefs and practices regarding food during pregnancy and lactation. Design: Cross-sectional study/ Community based experimental study. Place and duration of study: The present study was conducted at different parts of Tamilnadu. This study was conducted in five months time from September 2015 to January 2016. Participants and methods: The sample included both currently pregnant women who have had a previous childbirth, and lactating women. Sample size was 650 females of age group 22-60 years .We asked about their traditional beliefs and their behaviour during antenatal and postpartum period. We used a framework approach to identify main taboos. Simple Convenience Sampling technique was used. Results: 89% believed that there is an effect of food on pregnancy and lactation, 11% did not. Despite of high literacy rate (75%) there are certain strong, food beliefs regarding pregnancy and lactation which have been practiced by pregnant ladies and lactating mothers which were affecting their food intake. Conclusions: All accessible resources for creating wakefulness among the women regarding the importance of diet during pregnancy and lactation should be used properly by using all means of communication.
Food taboos during pregnancy and lactation among tribal population of south India
International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health
Background: Good nutrition paves the way for a fair chance in life. Food taboos exist in all the communities and do vary from one community to another. Objectives of current study were to study the socio-demographic profile of the tribal pregnant women, to explore food taboos during pregnancy and lactation among the tribal pregnant women and to assess association between sociodemographic characteristics and food taboo among pregnant women. Methods: This cross‑sectional study was conducted from July 2022 to August 2022 in tribal area among tribal pregnant women from selected area. They were interviewed for which pre-tested structured format was used. Sample size calculated was 303.SPSS version 26.0 was used to calculate statistics. Results: 265 (87.4%) study respondents reported that they include certain special food items during pregnancy. 263 (86.7%) respondents reported that they include certain special food items during lactation. 219 (72.3%) pregnant mothers reported that they a...
Food Cravings and Aversions during Pregnancy: A Current Snapshot
Food cravings are very common during pregnancy, along with food aversions in many instances, yet their underlying causes are not well understood. Food cravings are usually met with the consumption of the craved food, which generally include unhealthy foods, that is, sweet/fat and salty/spicy foods. It is important to follow a healthy diet during pregnancy in order to promote healthy outcomes for both mother and infant, but with the consumption of unhealthy craved foods a healthy diet may be difficult to maintain. The objective of this survey was to obtain a current snapshot of food cravings during pregnancy, while also comparing differences between cravers and non-cravers. The results showed that 59% of surveyed mothers had experienced cravings. Having food cravings were associated with greater weight gain during pregnancy, but also an increased intent to breastfeed. Sweets as a category, along with fruits and vegetables, were recorded as being the most craved foods. Cravers of sweets tended to be of normal weight and were likelier to have given birth to girls. In contrast, women that craved fruits and vegetables were likelier to be overweight, and were more likely to have given birth to boys. While reported by nearly one in four of the mothers who craved fruits and vegetables, pica, or the craving of non-food items, was nearly nonexistent among the sweet cravers. These results support previous findings that food cravings remain as a normative phenomenon, but while evident for the majority of mothers, can vary tremendously in terms of foods that are preferred.
Food Aversions and Cravings during Pregnancy on Yasawa Island, Fiji
Human Nature, 2016
PURPOSE: Women often experience novel food aversions and cravings during pregnancy. These appetite changes have been hypothesized to represent adaptive responses to challenges posed by pregnancy, including maternal immune suppression, metabolic changes, and oxidative stress and fetal organogenesis and growth requirements. Here, we assess the extent to which data from an indigenous population in Fiji accord with predictions of this hypothesis.