Relative leg length as a biological marker to trace the developmental history of individuals and populations: growth delay and increased body fat

Contributions of A. Roberto Frisancho to human population biology: an introduction

Over the span of his career, A. Roberto Frisancho has been one of the prime architects of the development and expansion of human population biology. His research and scholarly publications have helped to move the field beyond simple descriptions of human variation to address the nature and evolutionary origins of human biological diversity. Frisancho's early work in the Peruvian Andes elegantly demonstrated the importance of developmental acclimatization for promoting adaptive responses to the multiple stressors of high-altitude environments. Since mid-1970s, he has played a major role in developing and expanding the use of anthropometric techniques for assessing physical growth and nutritional status. Frisancho's influential publications have helped to make the use of anthropometric methods commonplace in the fields of nutritional science and public health. Throughout his career, Frisancho's work has examined how environmental, genetic, and developmental factors interact to influence human health and nutritional status. His research has addressed topics ranging from the determinants of low-birth weight infants in teenage mothers to the origins of obesity and associated metabolic diseases in populations of the developing world. Both the breadth and impact of Frisancho's work have been truly remarkable. The field of human population biology owes much to the tremendous contributions of A. Roberto Frisancho.

Intergenerational gains in relative knee height as compared to gains in relative leg length within Taiwanese families

Evidence indicates that variation in relative leg length (RLL) is a sensitive indicator of early childhood circumstances, but research presents conflicting evidence of how lower leg growth contributes to variability. This study investigates the extent of intergenerational changes in subischial leg length and knee height relative to stature among father-son, mother-daughter, and midparent-offspring pairs. These changes and differences in the extent of mean change in the two indices within like-sex parent-offspring pairs were assessed using repeated measures ANOVA. Results indicate that within all categories, mean generational differences in both indices were substantial [Delta RLL z: 0.64-0.73; Delta relative knee height (RKH) z: 0.46-0.64] and statistically significant (P < or = 0.010). Mean increases in RLL and RKH across parent-offspring categories were consistently greater in Taipei than Auckland, though only the midparent-offspring generation by location contrast for RLL was statistically significant (P = 0.037). Father-son and mother-daughter average differences were virtually identical for RLL (0.73 z vs. 0.72 z). When differences within pairs in the extent of change in RLL and RKH were assessed directly, mother-daughter mean differences approached significance at an alpha level of 0.05 (Delta = 0.26 z; F = 3.42, df = 1, 42, P = 0.071). Father-son differences were smaller (Delta = 0.09 z) and statistically insignificant suggesting very similar amounts of change in the two indices.