This project will examine the effects of the health transition in Vanuatu, a South Pacific archipelago. The health transition is the shift from infectious to noncommunicable diseases, such as obesity, Type II Diabetes Mellitus, and hypertension. Populations in Vanuatu are experiencing the health transition at varying rates. This transition is associated with changing diet and physical activity levels occurring with modernization, and with decreasing infectious disease burdens. These factors influence growth, development, and energy balance. In 2007, the researchers surveyed populations experiencing the health transition in Vanuatu. They collected measurements useful for predicting chronic disease risk, such as height, weight, percent body fat, and blood pressure. They also analyzed diet and activity patterns. These data show how diet and activity influence body composition. To complement these data, in this project the researchers will analyze how decreasing malaria rates influence body composition. They will analyze health records from the National Statistics Office, growth surveys from national screenings, and malaria transmission rates from the 1950s to the present. Decreasing malaria burdens are expected to be associated with better growth and changing body composition. Understanding how malaria control influences body composition will assist the researchers in distinguishing the effects of infectious disease control from the effects of changing diet and activity patterns. The health transition is a global phenomenon, and this project holds intellectual merit because it will inform our understanding of a widespread health concern. It will increase our knowledge about how body composition changes with infectious disease control, and which factors contribute to increased chronic disease risk during the health transition. Broader impacts include applying these findings in predicting future population health outcomes and in chronic disease prevention efforts. This project will contribute to the doctoral dissertation and training of a female graduate student and to continued collaboration with international health officials.
