Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- 1 Contributions of biological anthropology to the study of hormones, health, and behavior
- 2 Hormonal correlates of personality and social contexts: from non-human to human primates
- 3 Epidemiology of human development
- 4 Family environment, stress, and health during childhood
- 5 Work and hormonal variation in subsistence and industrial contexts
- 6 Reproductive ecology and reproductive cancers
- 7 Diet, hormones, and health: an evolutionary–ecological perspective
- 8 Modernization, psychosocial factors, insulin, and cardiovascular health
- Index
5 - Work and hormonal variation in subsistence and industrial contexts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- 1 Contributions of biological anthropology to the study of hormones, health, and behavior
- 2 Hormonal correlates of personality and social contexts: from non-human to human primates
- 3 Epidemiology of human development
- 4 Family environment, stress, and health during childhood
- 5 Work and hormonal variation in subsistence and industrial contexts
- 6 Reproductive ecology and reproductive cancers
- 7 Diet, hormones, and health: an evolutionary–ecological perspective
- 8 Modernization, psychosocial factors, insulin, and cardiovascular health
- Index
Summary
Introduction
Working behavior varies considerably across socio-ecological contexts, and over the lifespan. Nearly all humans spend a vast proportion of their time engaged in work-related activities and their form plays a large role in determining variation in health outcomes both between and within populations. This variation is usually measured in terms of a limited range of indicators, focusing on those easiest to obtain for a wide range of communities. Thus rates of mortality, morbidity, fertility, work capacity, growth and nutritional status are currently the gold standards for appraising the relative outcomes of different behavioral patterns, including outcomes of working behavior. Also important are the more elusive measures of well-being and the less obvious consequences of behaviors for day-to-day maintenance and long-term health. Endocrine data offer real potential for providing insight into the impact of working behavior on health and well-being.
Current research utilizing population data on endocrine profiles has examined both the energetic and psychosocial aspects of working behavior, linking endocrine changes with important health outcomes such as reproduction and risk of disease (Figure 5.1). In these studies, “work” is conceived both as an activity (exacting significant physical or mental effort) and as a particular microenvironment (with social interactions or perceived demands different from those of home).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Hormones, Health and BehaviourA Socio-ecological and Lifespan Perspective, pp. 139 - 183Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1998
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