The debate over nature (genetics) versus nurture (environment) is as old as spe-cies. It is not surprise that discussion of the causes of similarities and differences among individuals has been lively across the centuries. However, the debate over whether inhe-rited factors are more important than environment in molding phenotypes is largely ste-rile. One cannot exist without other. Both are intrinsically linked in the sense that it is impossible to understand the genetic basis of a trait without making assumptions about the nurture, and vice versa.
Over the past hundred years or so, the debate has taken on new dimensions for a variety of reasons.
First, research on differences within and among populations in several anthropometric, physiological, fitness, and skill phenotypes has been regularly reported. Among the probable causes of human variation, both nature and nurture arguments have been proposed.
Second, the influence of strong scientific personalities, such as Francis Galton, William Bateson, and Karl Pearson, was instrumental early in launching the debate and keeping it alive. Galton in particular, with his publications (1869; 1889) and his views on eugenics, put the debate in the forefront of the specific agenda of the day.
Third, genetics became progressively established as a science with initially two major but competing and often adversarial schools, the biometric and the Mendelian schools. Fortunately, rapid progress in genetics in the 20th century brought the two groups together and established genetics as a science with several disciplines.
Fourth, proponents of either school of thought in the nature versus nurture controversy often had philosophical and political agendas. Thus, it became increasingly diffi-cult to separate scientific arguments from personal convictions and political cor-rectness.
The nature-nurture dyad varies from phenotype to phenotype, from situation to situation, and from population to population. The controversy can be put to rest, and will eventually be put to rest, only with further advances in understanding the real gene-tic and non-genegene-tic bases of human variation.
Chapter 7. CONCLUSIONS
1. The growth patterns in height and body mass of Cypriot boys were in accord-ance with the normal growth patterns of healthy children and adolescents. The growth in height is genetically determined but the environmental effects may also have signifi-cant importance. Nevertheless, the increase in body weight is mostly under the pressure of lifestyle. The significantly taller stature and the non-proportionate body mass means of the overweight and obese boys between 6 and 12 years of age should be attributed to their advanced biological development that is influenced by the over-feeding. Conse-quently the normal growth patterns of our subjects were and are markedly modified by the environmental effects.
The respective hypothesis can be hold only in part.
2. The exponential pattern of change with age in growth type indices of Cypriot boys did not differ from those of Hungarian and German children, adolescents, and young adult, but there were significant between age group differences. The Cypriot sub-jects can be characterised as slightly more picnomorphic body structure. This more or less expressed inter-group variability was associated to the ethnic differences. The age-related metric index means can be the base of the prediction of young adult physique.
The respective hypothesis can be hold.
3. The observed prevalence of overweight and obese children was unfavourably high in our sample. The prevalence increased between childhood and adolescence and did not change during the post-pubertal years. The high prevalence of over-feed subjects should be related to the sedentary lifestyle and dietary habits. Taking into account the health consequences of long-lasting overweight and obesity our predictions cannot be positive. Since the over nutrition was characteristic in 25-28% of the sample, it can be interpreted as a real social problem. The school physical education with its limited weekly hours and programs cannot be the solution of the problem in general. In relation
to technical approach we concluded: The BMI is not a reliable indicator of fatness or body composition, consequently it is suggested to use along its original function, na-mely for the assessment of biological development of children and adolescents, but not in adults. Fatness is not complicated to measure or more precisely estimate accurately in epidemiological studies, but is needs extra time and human work, nevertheless, the be-nefit of this investment cannot be neglected. We can state, there is no clear agreement among the human biologist in case of qualification of overweight and obesity. The more marked differences can be observed near to the transition between normal body compo-sition and overweight, and also between overweight and obesity.
The respective hypothesis should be evaluated as being true without restriction.
4. The calculated references can be used for the estimation of morphological age in Cypriot boys. However, it cannot be excluded the depot fat corrected references re-sult in more accurate age estimations in physically active children and adolescents. The reduction of relative depot fat down to 20% seems to be one of the useful procedures.
The respective hypothesis can be hold.
5. Because of the high prevalence of overweight and obese boys, and also the bi-ologically high averages in non-overweight or –obese subjects, the means of BMI and relative fat content cannot be evaluated as reference. The result of body fat content esti-mates should be evaluated on health-related human biological approaches. The validity of the calculated references (height, weight, metric and plastic indices) can not be deter-mined accurately. According to the relatively high and stable life standard in Cyprus we can assess their applicability about 20 years.
Abstract
Growth, development and age-dependency in body fat content of 6- to 18-year-old Cypriot boys were determined in a nation-wide representative sample. The data col-lection was carried out in cross-sectional data colcol-lection. The successive means of statu-re, body weight, BMI, body fat content relative to bogy mass, LBM, and the growth ty-pe indices were evaluated. In addition, techniques for the estimation of morphological age, and prediction of young adult height were suggested. In taking the required body dimensions and for the calculation of growth type indices internationally accepted equ-ipment and techniques were used. Descriptive statistics of the obviously overweight and obese subjects were compared to those of their normal body composition counterparts.
The growth patterns in height and body mass of Cypriot boys were in accordan-ce with the normal growth patterns of healthy children and adolesaccordan-cents. The significant-ly taller stature and the non-proportionate body mass means of the overweight and obe-se boys between 6 and 12 years of age should be attributed to their advanced biological development that is influenced by the over-feeding. Consequently the normal growth patterns of our subjects were and are markedly modified by the environmental effects.
The exponential pattern of change with age in growth type indices of Cypriot boys did not differ from those of Hungarian and German children, adolescents, and young adult, but there were significant between age group differences. The Cypriot sub-jects can be characterised as slightly more picnomorphic body structure. This more or less expressed inter-group variability was associated to the ethnic differences.
The observed prevalence of overweight and obese boys was unfavourably high.
The prevalence increased between childhood and adolescence and did not change du-ring the post-pubertal years. The high prevalence of over-feed subjects should be related to the sedentary lifestyle and dietary habits. Taking into account the health consequen-ces of long-lasting overweight and obesity our predictions cannot be positive. Since the over nutrition was characteristic in 25-28% of the sample, it can be interpreted as a real social problem.
The calculated references can be used for the estimation of morphological age in Cypriot boys. However, it cannot be excluded the depot fat corrected references result in more accurate age estimations in physically active children and adolescents. The re-duction of relative depot fat down to 20% seems to be one of the useful procedures.
Összefoglaló
Országosan reprezentatív, keresztmetszeti vizsgálatban elemeztük a 6-18 éves ciprusi fiúk testi fejlődését, a morfológiai alkat és a relatív testzsírtartalom életkorfüggő különbségeit. Az elemzett változók: testmagasság, testtömeg, testtömeg index, sovány testtömeg, a testtömeg százalékában kifejezett testzsírtartalom, továbbá a növekedési tí-pust bemutató metrikus és plasztikus index. Az antropometriai adatfelvétel és jellemzés során szakirodalmilag elfogadott mérőeszközöket és eljárásokat alkalmaztunk. A vizs-gálatban a normál testösszetételű fiúk jellemzőit elkülönítettük a túlsúlyosakétól és az elhízottakétól.
A ciprusi gyermekek és serdülők testmagasságának és tömegének korfüggő min-tázata nem különbözött az egészséges fiúk jellemző fejlődésmenetétől. A túlsúlyos és elhízott vizsgáltak termete 6-12 éves kor között szignifikánsan nagyobb volt, mint a normál testösszetételű kortársaiké, továbbá testtömegük nemcsak a magasabb testma-gasság függvényében volt nagyobb. A túltáplált gyermekek szignifikánsan magasabb termetét alapvetően a szükségesnél nagyobb mennyiségű energia bevitelből is eredő bi-ológiai akcelerációval magyarázzuk. Feltételezzük továbbá, hogy a nem kritikus testösz-szetételű gyermekek és serdülők testméreteit is módosítja a túlzott energia bevitel.
A növekedési típus másodfokú görbével közelíthető korfüggése jellegében nem különbözött a magyar és német minták vizsgálata után leírtaktól, de a ciprusi fiúk minden korcsoportban szignifikánsan piknomorfabbak, mint magyar kortársaik. Ezt a következetes morfológiai alkat különbséget elsősorban az etnikai differenciákból eredő-nek tekintjük.
Mintánkban a bizonyíthatóan túlsúlyos és az elhízott fiúk együttes gyakorisága egyértelműen nagy. A gyakoriság szinte lineárisan a növekszik gyermek- és serdülőkor között, a posztpubertásban értékelhetően nem változik. A kritikus testösszetétel a táplál-kozási szokások és a hypoaktivitás együttes következménye és előrevetíti a felnőttkori életminőség csökkenést, valamint a fokozott morbiditást. A 25-28% közötti gyakoriság már nem réteg, hanem társadalmi probléma.
A vizsgálatban előállított korcsoportonkénti referenciák ismeretében a ciprusi gyermekek morfológiai életkora jól becsülhető és felnőtt testmagassága előre jelezhető.
Nem kizárt azonban, hogy a 20%-ra korrigált testzsírtartalommal e becslések megbízha-tósága jelentősen növelhető.
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