Farming makes people ... dwarfed

New research shows a surprising link between agriculture and human height and health.

The dawn of world agriculture has accompanied a surprising trend. From China to South America, people in agricultural cultures become dwarfed and inferior to their hunting and gathering ancestors.

According to Discovery , Amanda Mummert, a graduate student at Emory University (USA), collected statistics on human health and height from the days when agriculture began to form in the world. Mummert expert commented: ' Many people have said that the formation of agriculture with a stable source of food helps people be healthier. But primitive agricultural residents suffer from malnutrition and have difficulty adapting to changing pressure . Perhaps because they have become more dependent on certain food crops than have a much more diverse diet than before . ' George Armelagos, a professor of anthropology and research co-author, said: ' From a cultural perspective, we are chauvinists about agriculture. We tend to think that food production is always beneficial, but reality can be more complicated . '

Beginning around 10,000 years ago and continuing until recently, regardless of where and where to plant, this model is the same. Agriculture has made people lower and less healthy. The spread of disease in concentrated residential areas as well as animal-to-human diseases can also contribute to this situation. Gradually this trend was reversed, especially after the dawn of mechanized agriculture in developed countries about 75 years ago.

Some experts say there is a link between agriculture and status
health decline (Photo: Reuters)

Experts have looked at research papers on healed adult height, cavities, bone density, and broken bones and other health indicators from population groups around the world when they catch Head of farming. These groups come from remote areas of the globe, including China, Southeast Asia, North-South America and Europe.

According to the researchers, bones constantly regenerate themselves. The skeleton does not necessarily tell what people have died for, but they can provide a glimpse of human adaptability and survival. ' People pay a large biological fee for agriculture, especially when it comes to nutritional diversity. Even now, about 60% of our calories come from rice, corn and wheat , 'said Armelagos.

The idea that agriculture was the cause of the decline in health was given by Armelagos and MN Cohen in 1984 in a book entitled Paleoanthropology at the Origins of Agriculture on the origin. agriculture '). Although the work was controversial at the time, the idea was now widely accepted. Mummert research indicates the prevalence of a link between agriculture and declining health and a set of numbers to support this judgment.