In 2015, 1 in 5 children lived below the poverty line in France. However, according to a new French study conducted by Inserm, precariousness during childhood has a concrete (and negative) impact on health throughout life.
Researchers from Unit 960 “Laboratory of Cognitive Neurosciences” (Inserm / ENS) worked with a panel representative of the French population of 1000 men and women, aged 19 to 87 years. The volunteers first answered a series of questions concerning their current lifestyle (composition of the household, socio-professional category, school level …) then concerning their childhood (involvement of parents, education received, personal experiences, difficulties family …) and, finally, concerning their health (body mass index, age of first sexual intercourse, addictions …).
Growing up in an unfavorable environment is not without consequences
Results ? “Analysis of these data shows that there is an association between precariousness during childhood and the reproductive and health strategy of individuals. “Clearly, adults who lived in an unfavorable environment during their childhood (” with a low level of resources or a high level of stress and violence “) experienced, on average, earlier beginnings in sexual life, had their first child earlier and overall had poorer health (overweight, smoking, etc.).
“Receiving signals indicating that the environment is dangerous during the juvenile period will cause the organism to adjust its strategy towards early reproduction, to the detriment of longer-term investments in the maintenance and repair of the body” conclude the researchers , who published their work in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.
Source: Inserm
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