Industrial food could rob the Chimanes of their famous heart health

The people chimanea small Bolivian indigenous community of fodder farmers, is known for his extraordinary cardiovascular health and low blood pressure, as recalled this article from Franceinfo. However, over the past decade there has been a shift in their body mass and diet, with the most notable dietary change being the use of cooking oil. This led researchers from the university Baylorin Texas, to investigate probable causes. They found that the deterioration in their health coincided with a change in their way of life, which began to tilt towards globalization. Some chimanes still cherish the traditional hunting life and close family ties, but others are moving towards a more modern way of life, according to the study.

According to Alan F. SchultzAssistant Professor of Anthropology at the University Baylorthese changes include new forms of subsistence, nutritional preferences as well as an increase in their weight. In fact, according to the findings of the study published in the journal More Onethe chimanes now have to deal with obesity. Alan Schultz came to this conclusion after analyzing data collected over a year in the Bolivian Amazon.

The teacher Schultz studied 101 residents between the ages of 15 and 75, from two communities chimane. The community Aji lives in the center of the country, near a highway, the Rio river Maniquiand San Francisco from Borjalocality equipped with an airport. The second community Serruchois much more remote, accessible only by boat, located eight hours by motorboat fromAji. He asked them to describe what they thought they needed to have a “good life,” and the at then asked to rank these items in order of importance.

He found that women chimane had a good understanding of an industry-oriented way of life, but when it came to practical goals, they rejected things that would facilitate their integration into the market economy, probably due to their limited knowledge of the Spanish language. However, 40% of respondents expressed a preference for industrial items over traditional items. For example, they preferred to hunt with rifles rather than using bow and arrows.
A subgroup felt that most traditional items were as important as industrial items. Alan Schultz found that these people lived far from cities and had few material possessions, which did not bother them. What mattered to them was the size of the family as well as the interpersonal relationships between relatives and neighbours. They also attached great importance to the knowledge of medicinal plants and spiritual practices.

The disadvantages of exposure

With 36 indigenous groups in Bolivia, the chimanes are the most isolated. Their numbers have risen from around 6,000 in the late 1990s to around 16,000 in 2015, according to national census figures. Even if they are only beginning the process of integration into the regional market economy, the results are revealing. Their livelihoods remained mostly unchanged. But with the arrival of migrants and herders, they began to earn money by working. If the extra money allows them to have access to medical care, it also brings them the temptation of processed foods. Many studies have already been carried out on the people chimanebut unlike the others, those of Alan Schultz is based on the life and perceptions of chimanes.

According to a study published in Tea Lanceta chimane 80-year-old average person has the heart health of a 50-year-old American, despite eating high-calorie foods. Michael gurvenan anthropologist from the University of Santa Barbara, studied the diet of chimane and said they mainly depend on plantain, rice, maize, cassava root, wild game and fish.

However, with globalization, chimane have diversified their diet, which has led to a deterioration in their health. So the answer lies in a more natural lifestyle? According to this study, yes.