American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council

Physical fitness plays a crucial role in determining human health and overall well-being. The objective of the study was to assess the changes in body structure and physical fitness among individuals examined in 2004 and 2022 (persons aged 32-34 and 50-52). The research material consists of data from the Krakow Continuous Study (KCS) of somatic development and physical fitness of people born in 1970 and 1972, conducted in Krakow in the years 1976-2022. In total, in 2004, 103 women and 122 men took part in the study, and in 2022-47 women and 67 men...

OBJECTIVE: This paper examines the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) using a multivariate multilevel approach and investigates the links between individual and school-related correlates with children's BMI and CRF. METHODS: This cross-sectional sample included 1014 children (6-10 years) from 25 Portuguese primary schools. BMI was calculated, and CRF was assessed with the PACER test. Fundamental movement skills (FMS) included five object control tasks...

OBJECTIVE: Given the population-level variation in stature, a universal cut-off for waist circumference (WC) may not be appropriate for some populations. We compared the performance of WC and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) to detect the clustering of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in rural Vietnam. METHODS: We obtained data from a baseline survey of the Khanh Hoa Cardiovascular Study comprising 2942 middle-aged residents (40-60 years). We used areas under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC), net reclassification index (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) to compare the performance of WC and WHtR in predicting CVD risk clustering (≥2 of the following risk factors: hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and elevated C-reactive protein)...

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the association between oxidative balance score (OBS), wherein higher OBSs indicate lower oxidative stress, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), as well as inflammatory scores, in a large cohort of Japanese adults. METHODS: In total, 9703 individuals aged 40-69 years participated in a baseline survey of a population-based cohort study in Saga, Japan (2005-2007). OBSs were calculated from 11 prooxidant and antioxidant lifestyle factors, including dietary intake, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking status...

This paper explores the impact of livelihood strategies and place on mental well-being. Identifying different socioeconomic factors that impact mental well-being across contexts is pressing given the global rise in mental health disorders. Numerous studies in the population and social sciences have emphasized the protective role of material wealth on human health and well-being; however, scholars frequently assess wealth as a one-dimensional variable, which may fail to capture diverse forms of wealth. Acknowledging different forms of wealth may be particularly important in settings where agricultural economies coexist with cash economies...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the associations between height, weight, and three estimates of skeletal age (SA) and the strength and motor performance of male soccer players in two chronological age (CA) groups, 9-12 (n = 60) and 13-16 (n = 52) years. METHODS: Height, weight, strength (grip), speed (5 m, 20 m sprints), acceleration (time at crossing 10 m in 20 m sprint), agility (figure-of-eight run), power (vertical jump), and endurance (intermittent shuttle run) were measured...

OBJECTIVES: The immune system of milk (ISOM) creates a mother-infant immune axis that plays an important role in protecting infants against infectious disease (ID). Tradeoffs in the immune system suggest the potential for both protection and harm, so we conceive of two dimensions via which the ISOM impacts infants: promotion of protective activity and control of activity directed at benign targets. High variability in ISOM activity across mother-infant dyads suggests investment the ISOM may have evolved to be sensitive to maternal and/or infant characteristics...

OBJECTIVES: Population-based variations have been reported in permanent teeth eruption but only sparse literature exists on the same. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to assess the global variations in eruption chronology of permanent teeth in children and adolescents and the role of sexes, jaws and classes of socio-economic status (SES) on timing of eruption was explored. METHODS: The protocol for the systematic review was registered in PROSPERO...

INTRODUCTION: Although the primary function of a woman's breast is milk synthesis, only a few studies have evaluated the relationship between breast size and human milk composition, showing equivocal results. This study aims to test if breast size during fully established lactation is related to energy density and content of macronutrients in human milk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mothers of healthy, born-on-term infants at stage III of lactogenesis (N = 137) provided breast milk samples...

OBJECTIVE: Despite repeated public health interventions, anemia prevalence among children remains a concern. We use an evolutionary medicine perspective to examine the intestinal microbiome as a pathway underlying the efficacy of iron-sulfate treatment. This study explores whether gut microbiota composition differs between anemic children who respond and do not respond to treatment at baseline and posttreatment and if specific microbiota taxa remain associated with response to iron supplementation after controlling for relevant inflammatory and pathogenic variables...

OBJECTIVES: Increasing obesity has been associated with a higher frequency of symptoms at midlife. Bothersomeness represents an important measure of perceived symptom severity, but has received relatively little consideration, and relationships between symptom bothersomeness and obesity are not known. We evaluated the association between body fat percentage (%BF) and the bothersomeness of symptoms at midlife. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included women aged 40-60 in Qatar (n = 841)...

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the association of minority religious identification (Hindu or Muslim) with self-reported stress and psychological symptoms among sedentee and immigrant Bangladeshi women. METHODS: Women, aged 35-59 (n = 531) were drawn from Sylhet, Bangladesh and London, England. Muslim immigrants in London and Hindu sedentees in Sylhet represented minority religious identities. Muslim sedentees in Sylhet and Londoners of European descent represented majority religious identities...

OBJECTIVE: Hydration status and water intake are critical to physiological health. Despite a popular narrative that dehydration impairs cognitive performance, results are mixed in the literature. Therefore, we tested how hydration status was associated with cognitive performance in an ad libitum state over the course of 3 months. METHODS: Data come from a short-term longitudinal study among middle-to-older aged US adults (n = 78) measured three times (207 observations)...

OBJECTIVES: Recent discussions in human biology have highlighted how local ecological contexts shape the relationship between social stressors and health across populations. Chronic low-grade inflammation has been proposed as a pathway linking social stressors to health, with evidence concentrated in high-income Western contexts. However, it remains unclear whether this is an important pathway in populations where prevalence is lower due to lower adiposity and greater infectious exposures...

OBJECTIVES: Previous bioarchaeological analyses of medieval monastic and nonmonastic cemeteries in London revealed evidence of lower risks of mortality, and thus better health, in the monastic settings. However, comparison of the two monastic communities, Bermondsey Abbey and Merton Priory, which adhered to different religious ideals, suggested lower risks of mortality in the former. This study examines patterns of skeletal biomarkers, which reflect developmental stress or inflammation, in an attempt to clarify the possible underlying mechanisms producing apparent health differences in these monastic communities...

To expand the human exploration footprint and reach Mars in the 2030s, we must explore how humans survive and thrive in demanding, unusual, and novel ecologies (i.e., extreme environments). In the extreme conditions encountered during human spaceflight, there is a need to understand human functioning and response in a more rigorous theoretically informed way. Current models of human performance in space-relevant environments and human space science are often operationally focused, with emphasis on acute physiological or behavioral outcomes...

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to analyze the sexual dimorphism of total body fat [BF%] and fat distribution among 8-18 year olds from Poland. METHODS: The study included 2175 participants, divided into sex and age groups. Waist and hip circumferences, the thickness of six skinfolds, waist-to-hips ratio [WHR], the ratio of abdominal-to-suprailiac skinfolds, and the limb-to-trunk adiposity index were analyzed. Fat percentage were measured with a body composition analyzer (Tanita) with accuracy 0...

INTRODUCTION: Digit ratio (2D:4D: the relative length of the 2nd and 4th digit) is thought to be a negative correlate of prenatal testosterone. The 2D:4D is related to oxygen metabolism, but the precise nature of this relationship is unclear. The purpose of the present study was to consider associations between digit ratios (right 2D:4D, left 2D:4D, right-left 2D:4D [Dr-l]) and VO2max and ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2). METHODS: One hundred and thirty-three Caucasian (n = 133) professional football players competing in Cyprus participated in the study...

BACKGROUND: The importance of movement behaviors for health is well-known, although few studies have examined the compliance with movement guidelines in preschoolers from different living contexts. This study reported the compliance with the 24-h movement behaviors guidelines among low-income Brazilian preschoolers from rural and urban areas, according to age. METHODS: A total of 453 preschoolers (n = 222 urban), aged between 3 and 5 years, provided physical activity (PA) data (Actigraph wGT3X)...

Cultural and generational trends have increasingly favored "anti-inflammatory" action, innovating a new class of analgesic, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the 20th century. The modern human body has been molded over evolutionary time and while acknowledging inflammation can be pathologically entwined, it also serves an important role in healthy folliculogenesis and ovulation, shaping cues that drive needed vascular change. This review argues that because of anti-inflammatory action, the cultural invention of NSAIDs represents a particular stressor on female reproductive-age bodies, interacting with natural, underlying variation and placing limits on healthy growth and development in the follicles, creating potential autism risk through hypoxia and mutagenic or epigenetic effects...