Modern Humans Are “So Big And Robust That Ancestors Seem Unrecognizable

[CatWoman]

New research from around the world has begun to reveal a picture of humans today that is so different from what it was in the past that scientists say they are startled. Over the past 100 years, says one researcher, Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago, humans in the industrialized world have undergone “a form of evolution that is unique not only to humankind, but unique among the 7,000 or so generations of humans who have ever inhabited the earth.”

The difference does not involve changes in genes, as far as is known, but changes in the human form. It shows up in several ways, from those that are well known and almost taken for granted, like greater heights and longer lives, to ones that are emerging only from comparisons of health records.

The biggest surprise emerging from the new studies is that many chronic ailments like heart disease, lung disease and arthritis are occurring an average of 10 to 25 years later than they used to. There is also less disability among older people today, according to a federal study that directly measures it. And that is not just because medical treatments like cataract surgery keep people functioning. Human bodies are simply not breaking down the way they did before.

Even the human mind seems improved. The average I.Q. has been increasing for decades, and at least one study found that a person’s chances of having dementia in old age appeared to have fallen in recent years.

The proposed reasons are as unexpected as the changes themselves. Improved medical care is only part of the explanation; studies suggest that the effects seem to have been set in motion by events early in life, even in the womb, that show up in middle and old age.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/health/30age.html?ref=us

[snappyturtle]

1. Careful here. This sounds sort of evolutionary to me!

:sarcasm: Very interesting though....thanks!

[sueragingroz]

7. Injecting large amounts of HGN in Cows milk

Is likely responsible for the bulk of it.

That plus all of the preservatives that we consume.

I swear that once I'm dead, it will take 4 years for anyone to figure it out!

[Buns_of_Fire]

2. Two relatively-recent developments may explain it:

Triple-pepperoni pizza and beer. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it.

[Cleita]

8. You probably are right. Quality of life might have a lot to do with

it. However, does this study include famine prone areas of the world like Asia and Africa?

[Johnyawl]

12. beer is NOT a recent developement

From Wikipedia:

Beer is one of the oldest beverages humans have produced, dating back to at least the 5th millennium BC (prior even to writing)


:toast:

[dorktv]

3. actually from a book that I read about the year 1000, humans only

started to have really crappy bodies during the industrial revolution...that their bodies were about our size but they did have more wear and tear natch.

[qazplm]

5. In the year 1000

we were dying off from every plague and disease imaginable, war, poverty, no hygiene to speak of, no knowledge of what caused disease.

I have no doubt the Industrial Revolution didnt help things, but let's make no mistake, you will most likely live a longer life today than you would have at any point in the past.

[dorktv]

15. you might want to check the book out...just because it was in the past

does NOT mean that they were unable to clean anything. Or that they did not try some natural remedies, or that everyone was at war every minute of every day.

In fact, even today we have war, poverty, diseases, death and considering how messy my house is...

Seems to me like we still have the same ol' same ol'...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316511579/103-0554255-1373441?v=glance&n=283155

[theanarch]

17. i am reminded of something Gore Vidal wrote or said

about the rise of Christianity: Romans instructed the various European tribes in the virtues of cleanliness and personal hygene; the Christians came along, and no one Europe took a bath for the next thousand years.

[dorktv]

18. which is not true.

[theanarch]

21. simply out of intellectual curiosity...

...could you, please, expand on this?

[dorktv]

27. Found this for ya!

http://gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/baths.html

[theanarch]

29. thank you...

...will have to read and digest later.

[qazplm]

19. after reading some of the reviews...

doesnt look like it changes anything I said.

[dorktv]

28. Well you said:

"we were dying off from every plague and disease imaginable, war, poverty, no hygiene to speak of, no knowledge of what caused disease."

Only one guy said pretty much the same thing with the same canard about how "no one bathed" back then repeated by Publisher's Weekly.

People bathed in the old days, and no they did not know why it was important but they did bathe.

We still have war, famine, death and disease in our modern times so again: not much has changed. And apparently some people survived otherwise we would not be sitting here arguing about this!

[Alcibiades]

30. No they were small

or at least the common people were. If you go in them medieval buildings and look at the ceilings, furniture and doors, you'll see they were all 5 feet or under, in other words, the same size as people in Japan were a generation ago and people in central and south america are today. And yet their children will be as big as we are.

I think it was diet. Henry the Eighth was like six foot six, but most folks were tiny.

[dorktv]

32. He was six foot three. Better fed makes you bigger.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

35. yep.

My ex is scrawny, with small teeth, less than an inch taller than me and had a very bad diet when younger (very poor, no money for good food)

on the other hand, I was lucky enough to eat fairly well, since I lived in farm country, but we were on rations at times.

Our kids on the other hand are all over 6 feet (or will be) and not a too skinny one in the bunch.

I saw the same thing happen in my family, from grandparents who were immigrants to their kids, grandkids and great grandkids.

everybody's diet got better and the kids ended up bigger and more healthy.

[qazplm]

4. and yet we are told

that eating meat, and some other things are somehow killing us quicker and making us sicker and yet we certainly eat a lot more meat, and everything else than ever before. ;)

Bottomline is, slowly but surely, we are eating better, healthier in general, and have more opportunity.

In the midst of the horror that is the Bush Administration, let's remember not to lose sight of the good things in this world.

[Cleita]

16. I think we eat too much meat.

People ate more grains, legumes and root vegetables with some meat until this century, unless they were rich, then they ate too much meat and alcohol, one of the reasons many of them suffered from gout.

[saracat]

22. I think we eat too much junk and not enough meat!

But hey I am a low carber and haven't eaten bread or sugar for two years! And I have never been heathier or been at a better weight!

[Cleita]

25. I guess different strokes for different folks.

I'm high carb (I like my bread, pasta, potatoes and beans)and small amounts of animal products. At my age 60+ I have low cholesterol and "teenaged" blood pressure according to my MD.

[saracat]

37. And I am jealous . I would live on bagels and potatoes if I had a choice

but I fear I am a carb addict . A bite sends me spiraling into overindulgence and I implode but good for you being able to eat the carbs! I too have low cholesterol and low blood pressure. I guess it proves we are all unique doeasn't it? Cheers.

[Alcibiades]

31. We may

Meat gives us coronary artery disease, but it also makes us big and strong, like ox with bad heart.

[calico1]

6. I remember watching a documentary on

the making of "Pearl Harbor." They were talking about how studios have this vast collection of dresses, suits, shoes, etc. that they use for diffent movies depending on what the demand is. But they said that they had trouble finding outfits to fit the cast members because most of what they had was too small. They said shoes, especially were very small years ago compared to what people wear today.

[Yupster]

26. Growing up I used to go to

Fort William Henry in Lake George, NY.

They had a cemetary with many bones opened with a glass cover on it. These were mostly English soldiers who died of diseases.

They were tiny by our standards today. They looked like skeletons of 12 year olds.

Anyway, I went back about 5 years go and the glass covered graves are gone.

I guess it's considered insentive today to show open graves today -- or creepy at least.

[rurallib]

9. "even the human mind seems improved"

and yet 50% still believe Hussein orchestrated 9/11 with his good buddy Osama.

[KittyWampus]

24. Yes, but still, how many people today can read. People were mostly

illiterate 100 years ago.

I WONDER if people were better informed politically years ago.

[Samurai_Writer]

10. Compare from 1890s and 1905 to today.

Here's a few family photos to add to this conversation. The first is from 1895, my paternal grandfather's family. They were German Jews. Look at how TALL everyone is! The second is my paternal grandmother's family, taken in 1905. They were 'dark Germans'. Look at how BIG most of them are (and tall too, some of them). The third is my brother and his family. He's 6'6" and his daughter is only three years old in this photo. Another tall one! The fourth is my son and me. He's 6'2", and I'm 5'10".









As for the article, I work with elderly all the time (as a home healthcare worker) and I can attest that older people are not as frail physically or mentally as they used to be, overall, and are living a lot longer. Most of my clients are in their 80s and 90s, and they are still getting around rather well and their minds are sharp. Most are just needing some extra help because they are recovering from some type of surgery (hip, knee, back, etc).

[misanthrope]

20. Condolences...

...on losing three of your furry friends last summer.

[Elidor]

11. "The average I.Q. has been increasing for decades..."

Not for reporters, apparently. The average IQ continues to be 100. Or should I say, the median.

[marmar]

13. I blame Ray Kroc...

and his damn Big Macs!

[Warpy]

14. This is reversing in the US

and now people in Europe are getting taller, on average, while the height in the US is beginning to decrease very slightly.

While some might point to the immigration from the third world to explain this, I'd like to point out that Europeans aren't getting taller because people from Asia are moving into the US.

It's healthcare and wages, folks, always has and always will be.

[KittyWampus]

23. What the article's POINT was: sickness in our 1st two years or in womb

are highly likely to lead to poor health and earlier death later on.

So modern vaccinations and pre-natal care must be factored heavily as well as nutrition etc.

Then there's air quality.

And the article didn't even discuss kids not working in factories anymore.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

33. One possible factor that the article didn't mention is

today's extended childhood and adolescence.

A hundred years ago, most people assumed adult roles at age 14 after finishing eighth grade. They put aside children's clothes and wore adult clothes (there were no teen clothes). Most of them found full-time jobs or worked as adults on the family farm. During the Civil War years referred to in the article, people assumed adult roles even earlier, with small children working in mines and factories and servants often starting work at 12.

Compared to them, we have it easy, in addition to not having to worry much about dying young from infectious diseases or malnutrition.

[CatWoman]

34. I read somewhere that Marilyn Monroe was a size 16

I wonder how that equates to today's clothes sizes?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

36. a 16 then would be a 12 now

but her weight fluctuated...

she was just under five and a half feet tall and weighed between 118 and 140 pounds.

According to Allure Magazine, Marilyn would balloon up to a size 18 when she had a lull in her filming schedule, and would crash diet her way back to a "svelte" size, anywhere from a current day dress size from 8 to 12.

[saracat]

38. Clothes were cut smaller.In high school when I sewed I wore a 9/10.

At the same weight today I would wear a 6. I am a few pounds lighter and now wear a 0-4! Vanity sizing. I recently tried on a very old seven and it fit. Marilyns measurements, that they have on file make her today's 6.