Expertise 

Biological Anthropology, Human Physiology, High-Altitude Adaptation; Asia

Biography 

I received my BA in Anthropology at the University of California, and PhD in Biological Anthropology from the Pennsylvania State University. My primary research interests concern the adaptability of living humans to environmental stresses.  My research has included a study of the developmental adjustments that indigenous Tibetan and migrant Han populations make to high altitude hypoxia; studies on the affects of modernization on activity pattern, cardiovascular function and exercise capacity in the Solomon Islands; on the affect of disease and nutritional changes on fertility and mortality in Peshawar, Pakistan; on aging, activity pattern, cardiovascular function and exercise capacity at high altitude in Nepal; on the demographic structure of high altitude populations in Nepal; on the relationship between altitude and fertility/mortality in Nepal and India; on the effects of modernization on the growth and health of indigenous populations in Vanuatu; and, most recently, on the effects of extreme heat on elderly residents of urban slums and rural villages in West Bengal, India.  I teach courses on human growth, environmental physiology and human ecology.

Selected Publications

Publications on research at high altitude

• Weitz CA, Garruto RM, Chin C-T, Liu J-C, Liu R-L, He X.  2000a. Growth of Qinghai Tibetans Living at Three Different High Altitudes.  American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 111:69-88.
• Weitz CA, Garruto RM, Chin C-T, Liu J-C, Liu R-L, He X.  2000b.  Morphological Growth of Han Boys and Girls Born and Raised at Sea level and at High Altitude in Western China.  American Journal of Human Biology, 12:665-681.
• Weitz CA, Garruto RM, Chin C-T, Liu J-C, Liu R-L, He X.  2002. Lung Function of Han Chinese Born And Raised Near Sea Level and at High Altitude in Western China.  American Journal of Human Biology, 14:494-510.
• Garruto RM, Chin C-T, Weitz CA, Liu J-C, Liu R-L, He X.  2003. Hematological Differences During Growth Among Tibetan and Han Chinese Born and Raised at High Altitude in Qinghai, China.  American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 122:171-183.
• Weitz CA, Garruto RM, Chin C-T, Liu J-C, He X.  2004a.  Morphological  Growth and Thorax Dimensions Among Tibetan Compared To Han Children, Adolescents and Young Adults Born and Raised at High Altitude.  Annals of Human Biology, 31:292-310.
• Weitz CA, Garruto RM.  2004b.  The Growth of Han Migrants at High Altitude in Central Asia.  American Journal of Human Biology, 16:405-419.
• Weitz CA, Garruto, RM. 2005.  Population Differences n Sexual Dimorphism During Growth at High Altitude on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.  In: Bharati and Pal (eds.), Gender Disparity: Manifestations, Causes and Implications.  New Delhi: Oxford University Press.  Pp, 70-102.
• Weitz CA, Garruto, RM. 2007.  A Comparative Analysis of Arterial Oxygen Saturation among Tibetans and Han Born and Raised at High Altitude.  High Altitude Medicine & Biology, 8(1): 13-26.
• Weitz CA, Liu J-C, He X, Chin C-T, Garruto RM. 2013. Responses of Han Migrants Compared to Tibetans atHigh Altitude. American Journal of Human Biology, 25: 169-178.
• Weitz CA, Garruto RM. 2015. Stunting and Lung volumes among Tibetan Children and Adolescents at HighAltitude. High Altitude Medicine and Biology, 16(4):306-317.
• Weitz CA, Garruto RM, Chin C-T. 2016. Larger FVC and FEV1 Among Tibetans Compared to Han Born andRaised at High Altitude. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 159(2):244-255.

Research on modernization in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

• Weitz CA. 1990. The Effects of Acculturation and Age on the Exercise Capacities of Solomon Islanders. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 81:513-525.
• Weitz CA, Friedlaender F, Van Horn A, Friedlaender JS. 2012. Modernization and the Onset of Overweight and Obesity in Bougainville and Solomon Islands Children: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Comparisons Between 1966 and 1986. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 149:435-446.,
• Weitz CA, Friedlaender F, Friedlaender JS. 2014. Adult Lipids Associated With Early Life Growth Stunting in Traditional Melanesian Societies Undergoing Rapid Modernization: A Longitudinal Study of the Mid-20^thCentury.  American Journal of Physical Anthropology,153:551-558.
• Weitz CA, Olszowy KM, Pomer A, Dancause KN, Sun C, Silverman H, Lee G, Chan CW, Tarivonda L,Regenvanu R, Kaneko A, Lum JK, Garruto RM. 2017. Rolling tobacco in banana leaves, newspaper orcopybook paper associated with significant reduction in lung function in Vanuatu. Asia Pacific Journal of PublicHealth, 29(3):180-188.
• van Horn A, Weitz CA, Olszowy KM, Dancause KN, Sun C, Pomer A, Silverman H, Lee G, Tarivonda L, Chan CW, Kaneko A, Lum JK, Garruto RM. 2019. Using multiple correspondence analysis to identify behaviour patterns associated with overweight and obesity in Vanuatu adults. Public Health Nutrition, 22(9):1533-1544.

Research on the responses of elderly residents of urban slums and rural villages in West Bengal, India

• Mukhopadhyay B, Weitz CA, Das K. 2021. Indoor heat conditions measured in urban slum and rural village housing in West Bengal, India. Building and Environment: Volume 191, 15 March 2021,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107567
• Mukhopadhyay B, Weitz CA, 2022. Heat exposure, heat-related symptoms, and coping strategies among elderly residents of urban slums and rural villages in West Bengal, India. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.  19(19), 12446; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912446
• Weitz CA, Mukhopadhyay B, Das K. 2022, Individually experienced heat stress among elderly residents of an urban slum and rural village in India. International Journal of Biometeorology 66(6):1145–1162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-022-02264-8