Ines Varela-Silva
Lecturer
Contact details
Room: U.2.20
Phone: +44 (0)1509 228164
Fax: +44 (0)1509 223940
Email: M.I.O.Varela-Silva@lboro.ac.uk
Background
Bachelor in Science (1989), Masters in Science (1996), PhD in Kinesiology (2005) from Technical University of Lisbon (Faculty of Human Kinetics).
Post-doctoral fellowship - Biological Anthropology (University of Michigan, USA).
Research Interests
Childhood obesity in developing countries (Mexico and Cape Verde) and among migrant communities in developed countries (USA and Portugal); aspects of energy balance, nutrition transition, physical (in)activity and intergenerational components of health and disease.
Current research
1 .Behavioural, metabolic, & intergenerational components of early life undernutrition leading to later obesity among the Maya in Mexico and Mayan migrants to Florida (USA).
2. Birth outcomes, parental size, and growth status of Portuguese juveniles (6-9 years).
3. Height and the History of Iberia in the 20th century
Awards
- Philanthropy. Copper Medal. Ministry of Navy, Portugal
Selected publications
- Varela-Silva, MI, Azcorra, H, Dickinson, F, Bogin, B, Frisancho, AR (submitted). Influence of maternal stature, pregnancy age, and infant birth weight on growth during childhood in Yucatan, Mexico, American Journal of Human Biology.
- Padez, C.; Varela-Silva, M. I.; Bogin, B. (in press). Height and relative leg length as indicators of the quality of the environment among Mozambican juveniles and adolescents. American Journal of Human Biology.
- Bogin B., Varela-Silva M. I. (9/1/08) Fatness biases the use of estimated leg length as an epidemiological marker for adults in the NHANES III sample, International Journal of Epidemiology, 37, 201-209 (doi:10.1093/ije/dym2).
- Varela-Silva MI, Frisancho AR, Bogin B, Chatkoff D, Smith PK, Dickinson F, Winham D (2007) Behavioral, environmental, metabolic and intergenerational components of early life undernutrition leading to later obesity in developing nations and in minority groups in the U.S.A., Collegium antropologicum, 31 (1), 39-46
- Bogin B, Silva MI, Rios L (2007) Life history trade-offs in human growth: adaptation or pathology?, American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 19 (5), 631-42
- Smith, P. K., Bogin, B., Varela-Silva, M. I., Gossiaux, B (2006) Prospects for welfare alleviation in an obesogenic environment, Contemporary Poverty and Welfare Alleviation Issues, F. Columbus (ed), Hauppage, New York, Nova Scientific, 1-31 pages (bookchapter)
You can view a fuller publications list on the University Publications Database.
External Activities
- Journal Activity
- Treasurer: The Biosocial Society
- Journal Referee
- Annals of Human Biology (UK)
- Collegium anthropologicum (Croatia)
- Revista Portuguesa de Ciências do Desporto (Portugal)
- Learned Societies and Professional Affiliations
- American College of Sports Medicine
- Biosocial Society
- British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences
- Human Biology Association
- International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
- Society for the Study of Human Biology
- Visiting Titles
- Associate visiting professor for the Masters Degree of Child Development at the Faculty of Human Kinetics, Portugal.
- Advisory Roles
- •
- PhD Supervisor - Hannah Wilson - Dep. Human Sciences, Loughborough University
- External PhD supervisor to Ana Paula Seabra (Faculty of Human Kinetics, Technical University of Lisbon): Growth and health indiciators of the children from Rio Maior, Portugal.
- Collaborative Research
- United States (University of Michigan and Arizona State University); in Mexico (Department of Human Ecology, Centre for Advanced Studies, Merida); in Portugal, (Laboratory of Motor Development and Adaptation, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon and in the Department of Anthropology, University of Coimbra), and in Spain (Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid).