A new study has found that a person's diet and socioeconomic status can be determined by simply looking at proteins found in hair.
The study, led by University of Utah researchers, examined proteins found in discarded hair from salons and barbershops across the U.S. The team had found a way to identify a person's diet, where they've been, and how much the haircut cost by simply examining proteins in hair samples.
Apparently people with lower socioeconomic standing prefer a diet mostly consisting of protein from cornfed animals while richer folks had proteins from mostly vegetables and fruits. Furthermore, it was found that isotopes in hair correlate to a person's standard of living, where they live, what they eat, and the cost of the haircut.
To come up with these findings, the team examined the source of protein -- meat or plant -- then looked at the socioeconomic status of the hair's owner. The isotope information from the hair was then compared with U.S. census socioeconomic data. In simple terms, poorer people mostly eat meat, as the proteins in their hair come from cornfed animals.
According to researchers, this information could be used to assess the health of entire communities and identify common health risks. Proteins derived from plants were significantly lower compared to cornfed animal-derived proteins in the diets of people from low socioeconomic communities.
"Animal proteins accounted for 57 percent of diets on average, and, in areas with low socioeconomic status, they accounted for as much as 75 percent," the authors wrote in the paper.
In contrast, cornfed animal protein consumption is lower in populations with high economic status, which means individuals in poorer communities are at a heightened risk of illness.
According to Jim Ehleringer, lead author of the study, this information could quantify dietary trends in ways that surveys are not able to capture. The team intends to assess dietary patterns in more communities using hair isotope tests, especially in areas with diverse economic groups within the U.S.
For the study, Ehleringer and his team collected hair samples from more than 700 people from over 60 cities across America by rummaging through the bins of hairdressers, who were "supportive" of the study, they noted.
A portion of those hair samples was from 29 postcodes in Salt Lake Valley, Utah, so they could study differences between areas that were close together.
Their findings have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
