The effects of the industrial transition on lower limb bone structure: A comparison of the inhabitants of Pecos Pueblo and present-day Indigenous peoples of New Mexico.

Objectives: Comparisons between Indigenous peoples over time and within a particular geographic region can shed light on the impact of environmental transitions on the skeleton, including relative bone strength, sexual dimorphism, and age-related changes. Here we compare long bone structural properties of the inhabitants of the late prehistoric-early historic Pecos Pueblo with those of present-day Indigenous individuals from New Mexico.

Materials And Methods: Femora and tibiae of 126 adults from Pecos Pueblo and 226 present-day adults were included in the study.

Effects of the energy balance transition on bone mass and strength.

Chronic positive energy balance has surged among societies worldwide due to increasing dietary energy intake and decreasing physical activity, a phenomenon called the energy balance transition. Here, we investigate the effects of this transition on bone mass and strength. We focus on the Indigenous peoples of New Mexico in the United States, a rare case of a group for which data can be compared between individuals living before and after the start of the transition.