title: Impact of modernization on adult body composition on five islands of varying economic development in Vanuatu.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Republic of Vanuatu, similar to other South Pacific island nations, is undergoing a rapid health transition as a consequence of modernization. The pace of modernization is uneven across Vanuatu's 63 inhabited islands, resulting in differential impacts on overall body composition and prevalence of obesity among islands, and between men and women. In this study, we investigated (1) how modernization impacts body composition between adult male and female Melanesians living on four islands of varying economic development in Vanuatu, and (2) how body composition differs between adult Melanesians and Polynesians living on rural islands in Vanuatu.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anthropometric measurements were taken on adult male and female Melanesians aged 18 years and older (n = 839) on the islands of Ambae (rural), Aneityum (rural with tourism), Nguna (rural with urban access), and Efate (urban) in Vanuatu, in addition to Polynesian adults on Futuna (rural).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean measurements of body mass and fatness, and prevalence of obesity, were greatest on the most modernized islands in our sample, particularly among women. Additionally, differences between men and women became more pronounced on islands that were more modernized. Rural Polynesians on Futuna exhibited greater body mass, adiposity, and prevalence of obesity than rural Melanesians on Ambae.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that Vanuatu is undergoing an uneven and rapid health transition resulting in increased prevalence of obesity, and that women are at greatest risk for developing obesity-related chronic diseases in urbanized areas in Vanuatu.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biomedical Anthropology and Neurosciences, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.|Department of Anthropology, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Olszowy
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biomedical Anthropology and Neurosciences, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.|Department of Anthropology, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.|Laboratory of Evolutionary Anthropology and Health, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.
authors.forename: Alysa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pomer
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinanthropologie, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Montréal, QC, H2X 1Y4, Canada.
authors.forename: Kelsey N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Dancause
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.|Laboratory of Evolutionary Anthropology and Health, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.|Laboratory of Evolutionary Anthropology and Health, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Evolutionary Anthropology and Health, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.
authors.forename: Gwang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Island Malaria Group, Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Chim W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, PMB 042, Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu (Former).
authors.forename: Len
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tarivonda
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Regenvanu
authors.affiliation: Island Malaria Group, Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.|Department of Parasitology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Sumiyoshi Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.|Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Weitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.|Laboratory of Evolutionary Anthropology and Health, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.|Department of Biological Sciences, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.
authors.forename: J Koji
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lum
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biomedical Anthropology and Neurosciences, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.|Department of Anthropology, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.|Department of Biological Sciences, SUNY Binghamton, Binghamton, New York.
authors.forename: Ralph M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Garruto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D057217:Economic Development / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D009514:Vanuatu