Machiguenga energy expenditure

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study of energy expended at typical activities and on average days, by adult women and men of a hunter‐gatherer‐horticulturalist population in south‐eastern Peru. Marked differences between the sexes in patterns of energy use are presented. The men tended to work at higher rates of energy expenditure than did the women. On the average day, representative of all activities in an annual cycle, the women expended only about 8.0 MJ (1925 Cals) whereas the men expended about 13.3 (3200 Cals). Seasonal analysis reveals an even greater contrast during the wet months. Relations between the Machiguenga and their upper Amazonian rain forest environment are considered in accounting for the observed patterns of energy expenditure. Factors such as differences in uses of technology, work settings, and population composition are related to the findings.