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Azrieli Global Scholar

Michael A. Little Early Career Award

Global Health Educators Community 

 American Society for Nutrition 

American Association for the Advancement of Science 

International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health 

American Association of Biological Anthropologists  

Human Biology Association 

Circulating Epstein–Barr Virus Antibody Levels as a Biomarker of Socioecological Adversity in Amazonian Ecuador

Soil‐Transmitted Helminths and the Intricacies of Immunoregulation: Evidence From Amazonian Ecuador for the Importance of Considering Species‐Specific Effects Within the Old …

Salivary Testosterone, Age, and Adiposity Associations Among Shuar Males in Amazonian Ecuador Challenge Assumptions of “Normal” Testosterone Patterns

Validation of an Enzyme‐Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Measuring Leptin, a Key Metabolic Hormone, in Dried Blood Spot Samples

Sex Differences in Measures of Energy Expenditure and Body Composition in Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Adults

The energetics of childhood: Current knowledge and insights into human variation, evolution, and health

Childhood Daily Energy Expenditure Does Not Decrease with Market Integration and Is Not Related to Adiposity in Amazonia

Daily energy expenditure through the human life course

Constraint and trade-offs regulate energy expenditure during childhood

Tradeoffs between immune function and childhood growth among Amazonian forager-horticulturalists

We’re taking on an age-old question today: Do kids have more energy than adults? Breakfast tacos, caffeine, an energized DJ and an epic battle between a girl and her parents. This episode has all that and then some. Discover how we turn food into energy at an awesome taco party. Then pump up the jams with DJ Thyroid. Speaking of music, get ready for a song from Lake Street Dive’s Mike Olson. And just when you think the show might be out of energy, we engage in an out-of breath competition between a kid and her parents. Plus, there’s a brand new Mystery Sound and a Moment of Um about why we lose our voices sometimes.This episode is sponsored by Laurel Springs Online School (laurelsprings.com/brainson) and KiwiCo (kiwico.com/brainson)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do kids have more energy than adults?

Dr. Urlacher studies global variation in childhood development and the early life origins of health disparities from an evolutionary and bioenergetic perspective.

His collaborative research program integrates lab and field research (currently on 5 continents) and draws from many disciplines, including evolutionary biology, anthropology, immunology, nutrition science, psychology, economics, and epidemiology. He is particularly interested in how children allocate calories to competing physiological tasks (e.g., brain development, immune activity, and growth) and the impact of early adversity on lifetime metabolic disease risk (e.g., obesity and chronic inflammation). Much of his current work (funded by NIH, NSF, and others) uses stable isotope-tracking methods to investigate the changes in children’s energy expenditure that may underlie the global nutrition/epidemiologic transition. An important goal of this work is to apply research findings to improve health outcomes.

Biological Anthropology

Human Evolutionary Biology

Evolutionary Medicine

Global Health

Life History Theory

Growth and Development

Metabolism

Nutrition

Faculty Profile

Human Evolutionary Biology and Health Lab

Google Scholar Profile

LinkedIn

Can You Change Your Metabolism?

Exercise vs. Diet? What Children of the Amazon Can Teach Us About Weight Gain

Brains On!® is a science podcast for curious kids and adults from Brains On Universe. Each week, a different kid co-host joins Molly Bloom to find answers to fascinating questions about the world sent in by listeners. Like, do dogs know they’re dogs? Or, why do feet stink? Plus, we have mystery sounds for you to guess, songs for you to dance to, and lots of facts -- all checked by experts. Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/

Brains On! Science podcast for kids

Children’s third-party intervention across urban and rural contexts

Follow-Up of the Waco COVID Survey

A biocultural evolutionary investigation of childhood intestinal energy absorption in the context of poor sanitation

Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director of Anthropology

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