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Life-long health consequences of undernutrition in the Yanomami indigenous population in Brazil

Nature Medicine (2024)Cite this article

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Yanomami children are currently experiencing the most severe nutritional deficits among America’s indigenous populations1. Approximately 570 Yanomami children have died due to hunger over the past 4 years2. In 2022, the Brazilian Ministry of Health reported that 52.2% of children under 5 years of age in the Yanomami land (the largest indigenous reserve in Brazil) were undernourished, which is far above the global figure (29.1%)3. This alarming nutritional scenario, along with other social, environmental and health issues, prompted the Brazilian federal government to declare a humanitarian public health crisis in the Yanomami territory4.

The first minister of the newly created Ministry of Indigenous Affairs in Brazil, Sônia Guajajara, pointed out that actions to improve the nutritional status of the Yanomami population are an immediate need. However, undernutrition, particularly during childhood, can result in long-term health consequences and increase the risk of diseases in adulthood. This risk persists even after nutritional rehabilitation.

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Fig. 1: Deforestation and child undernutrition percentage in Yanomami land between the years 2015 and 2022.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the organizers and participants of XVII Regional Meeting of the Federation of Societies of Experimental Biology (FeSBE), held in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, in April 2023, as well as The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP grant no. 2018/26080-4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Thiago dos Reis Araujo, Ana Paula Davel & Everardo Magalhães Carneiro

  2. Obesity and Comorbidities Research Center, University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Thiago dos Reis Araujo, Ana Paula Davel & Everardo Magalhães Carneiro

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  1. Thiago dos Reis Araujo
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  2. Ana Paula Davel
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  3. Everardo Magalhães Carneiro
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Correspondence to Ana Paula Davel or Everardo Magalhães Carneiro.

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dos Reis Araujo, T., Davel, A.P. & Carneiro, E.M. Life-long health consequences of undernutrition in the Yanomami indigenous population in Brazil. Nat Med (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-02991-y

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