Declining Mobility and Increasing Body Weight Causes Brittle Bones In Humans

by Julia Samuel on May 19, 2015 at 4:30 PM

An interesting research reported that rather than urbanization or diet, the rise of agriculture and fall in mobility has led to lighter, brittle bones among humans.

The study of the bones of hundreds of humans who lived during the past 33,000 years in Europe sheds light on a monumental change that has left modern humans susceptible to osteoporosis, a condition marked by brittle and thinning bones.

Lifestyle And Osteoporosis

Encyclopedia section of medindia briefly explains about Lifestyle and Osteoporosis

At the root of the finding is the knowledge that putting bones under the "stress" of walking, lifting and running leads them to pack on more calcium and grow stronger.

Earlier humans had stronger bones and that weight-bearing exercise in modern humans prevents bone loss.

"By analyzing many arm and leg bone samples from throughout that time span, we found that European humans' bones grew weaker gradually as they developed and adopted agriculture and settled down to a more sedentary lifestyle," said Christopher Ruff from the Johns Hopkins University's school of medicine.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that leads to an increased risk of fractures. The bone mass is reduced and the bones are porous, thereby resulting in weakness of the skeletal system of the body.

Modern lifestyles have famously made humans heavier, but, in one particular way, noticeably lighter weight than our hunter-gatherer ancestors: in the bones.

"The decline continued for thousands of years, suggesting that people had a very long transition from the start of agriculture to a completely settled lifestyle," Ruff said.

Better bones are still achievable, at least for younger humans, if they recreate to some extent the lifestyle of their ancestors, notably doing a lot more walking than their peers, the authors said.

Source: Medindia

Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Encyclopedia section of Medindia gives general info about Osteogenesis Imperfecta

<< Infusing Special Messengers Rewires Adult Brain and Helps Re...

Specific Region in Human Brain Triggers Inherent Risk-Taking... >>

Foods that Negatively Affect Bone Density

Calcium and vitamin D are known to improve bone health. Most people are aware of the foods which promote bone health but are unaware of those that lower bone density leading to osteoporosis.