The increase in chronic diseases related to obesity has recently reached a level considered epidemic by the World Health Organization. The phenomenon is all the more serious because, by also affecting children and adolescents, it is responsible for the progressive deterioration of the health of future generations. This study was undertaken to monitor early risk factors for obesity and to contribute to updating regional and nation-wide anthropometric data. Five hundred and three subjects (190 boys, 313 girls) aged between 14 and 18 attending the "Socrate" secondary school in Bari (Italy) were examined. Standard anthropometric variables, impedentiometric measurements, and nutritional and behavioral data related to sports activities were recorded. Subjects' body composition fell within normal Italian and international ranges for almost all parameters, except height, which was higher than the Italian average. With respect to standard BMI values, although some boys and girls were underweight, 14.1% and 10.2% respectively were overweight and 2.6% and 0.3% obese. A decrease in average age at menarche (11.7 years) was also recorded. Lifestyle analysis revealed frequent sports activities (70%), but sedentary use of leisure time.

A survey of the physical structure and nutritional status of students following Sciences courses at the University of Bari (Italy) is reported in this study. A total of 514 students (253 males, 261 females) aged between 18 and 34 were examined. Standard anthropometric variables (weight, height, sitting height, biacromial and bicrystal diameters, waist circumference, skin folds) were recorded. Impedentiometric data were also collected (body fat and body water percentages, visceral fat index, muscle and bone mass, basal metabolic rate, metabolic age), together with nutritional and behavioral data, with particular attention to lifestyle. When height and weight data were compared with those reported in previous regional and nation-wide studies, an increase in height and a reduction in weight were found in this generation of young people. With respect to standard BMI values, our sample fell within normal values, partly due to frequent sports activities, at least among the men (73%). Principal Component Analysis applied to both anthropometric and impedentiometric data showed not only a clear-cut division between genders, but also major differences in metabolic data.

Dati antropometrici e comportamentali di adolescenti pugliesi. Tommaseo Ponzetta M., Sgaramella I., Ciocia R, Potente F., Curione O., Vacca E. ABSTRACT Negli ultimi decenni la Puglia è stata caratterizzata da un crescente sviluppo socio-economico e culturale, cui si è aggiunta un’elevata mobilità della popolazione. Da un precedente rilevamento antropometrico nelle scuole, effettuato negli anni ’90 da questa stessa unità di ricerca, è stato evidenziato un incremento secolare della statura accompagnato, specialmente per le fasce più giovani, da una tendenza al sovrappeso e all’obesità. Viene qui presentato un follow-up di tale ricerca, rivolto a pre-adolescenti e adolescenti dell’area barese, frequentanti scuola media e liceo scientifico. Sono stati rilevati i dati relativi ai principali standard antropometrici, mentre la composizione corporea è stata indagata con il metodo impedenziometrico. Il confronto con i dati pregressi e con un più vasto campione nazionale relativo alle stesse fasce di età rileva tendenze analoghe e nel contempo alcune caratterizzazioni locali. E’ stata inoltre proposta agli studenti la compilazione di un questionario per la valutazione di dati nutrizionali e comportamentali, con particolare attenzione alla pratica sportiva.

Nowadays we observe a rapid change in body size of the Italian population, particularly of young people: a phenomenon resulting from the economic and demographic development of the country – such as the growing mobility of the population, and the improvement of nutritional and health standards. Lifestyles have also changed, and this positive trend is accompanied by an extensive use of private and public transport, in towns which are getting larger -, while youngsters’free time is increasingly devoted to television, computer and videogames. In the meantime, the nutritional habits of teenagers, conditioned by advertisings, are spoiled by an excessive use of junk food. Consequently, overweight and obesity are widespread, particularly in Southern Italy, as we were able to prove using a survey carried out a decade ago. At the same time, body height has increased in comparison to previous generations. These findings encouraged us to undertake a follow up to the earlier research, involving preadolescents and adolescents of the Apulia region. From these initial results - given the low number of subjects tested - we limit ourselves to make some suggestions, useful to the future development of this research. Comparing these data with those collected between 1997 and 2000, we observe an earlier growth spurt in MS males, who show an increase in body height, not evident in females. When High School students are concerned, the boys of the Scientific show an increase in height at lower ages, but then they place themselves between the CHS and the PI male values. The infl uence of family environment can be perceived in the successive age groups, when both male and female students of Barletta CHS show the advantages of a favorable cultural background, combined with better nutritional habits and an established sport activity. This research points out the urgency of promoting the importance of a correct nutrition and of an active life in the schools to prevent pathologies which could arise later in life, following a tendency to overweight in youth. By the end of our research, our subjects were quite interested in our observations, especially concerning their being overweight. They were embarrassed in front of their schoolmates to appear “fat” and laughable, criticized or not accepted by the group. Therefore we believe that there are multiple reasons to continue this study which addresses both health and psychological.

This paper provides anthropological data on the Upper Paleolithic skeletons from Grotta Santa Maria d’Agnano in Ostuni (BR) and describes their anatomical characteristics in the context of remains from the same time period. The importance of the cave as a burial site was identified in the autumn of 1991 by Donato Coppola who noticed a few human bones in the roof of a small cavity existing below the floor of the upper cave of Santa Maria d’Agnano. This unique situation, resulting from the partial natural erosion of the deposit underlying the burial, had exposed and made visible from below various elements of an adult human skeleton (Ostuni 1) and some elements of a foetal skeleton (Ostuni 1b). The precarious conditions of the deposit and of the remains (which seemed to be suspended on the ceiling of the cavity), as well as the need to preserve the two skeletons in the original position required isolation and rapid removal of the bulk of sediment containing the burial. During this phase, a second burial (Ostuni 2), located not far from the first but not visible in the ceiling of the lower cavity, necessitated further preservation. Two blocks of sediment containing the burials were removed and transported in the Museum of ‘Civiltà Preclassiche’ in Ostuni where the subsequent work took place. The state of preservation of the remains and maintenance of the mutual positions of the skeletal elements within the deposit, attest the success and efficiency of the recovery operations. The second burial of Grotta Santa Maria d’Agnano was completely embedded in a very tough concrete-like sediment, impossible to remove without damaging the bones. The skeleton, probably lying prevalently on its right side, and in a flexed position, belongs to an adult individual, based on dental eruption and wear. Sex can not be diagnosed. The remains from the first burial, due to the less concretionary nature of deposit, were in an excellent state of preservation and not too difficult to isolate. This burial is very peculiar, including the remains of a young woman in advanced state of pregnancy. These remains therefore refer to a maternal skeleton (Ostuni 1) and to a foetal skeleton (Ostuni 1b). The maternal skeleton was lying on its left side and in a flexed position. The lower limb bones were flexed both at the hip and knee. The right forearm was placed across the abdominal area with the hand resting on the left ilium. The left arm was completely flexed and the hand was placed under the cranium that was laid on the left side and facing downwards. The foetal skeleton was found in the maternal abdominal area. The elements of the cranial vault, in particular the parietals, were recovered under the right maternal pubic bone and not far from the foetal mandible. In correspondence to the maternal promontory, on the ventral face of the first sacral element, the foetal upper limb bones were found approximately in anatomical connection and strongly flexed. The thoracic elements were lying in part on the sacrum, i.e. in the lower region of the maternal iliac cavity, while the foetal spine appear oriented along the longitudinal axis of the maternal body. Cranially, on the left iliac crest, the diaphyses of the tibia and fibula were found partly covered by the right maternal radius. The foetal femurs and the two iliac portions of the pelvis were located at the extremity of and lateral to the foetal tibia, and nearly touching the distal portion of the right maternal radius. The foetal head, therefore, occupied the lesser pelvis while the body and the limbs were found approximately in the greater pelvis. The maternal skeleton is almost complete. Only a few hand bones are missing, while most of the foot bones are still embedded in the sediments; minor loss occurred in the basilar part of the occipital bone and in the facial and orbital areas. The state of conservation of the remains is good. The Ostuni 1 skeleton

La dieta dei cacciatori-raccoglitori gravettiani della Puglia: analisi isotopiche e datazioni al radiocarbonio AMS sugli inumati di Grotta Paglicci e Grotta di Santa Maria di Agnano MA Mannino, S. Talamo, D. Coppola, E. Vacca, A. Rnchitelli, P. Boscato, M.P Richards I recenti sviluppi nel campo dell'archeologia molecolare con­ sentono di eseguire ricostruzioni paleonutrizionali sempre più affidabili analizzando il collagene osseo estratto da reperti umani preistorici, apportando nuovi dati allo studio della sussistenza umana nel passato. Nell'ambito dd presente studio sono stati campionati gli inumati gravettiani di Grotta Paglicci (Rignano Garganico) e Grotta di Santa Maria di Agnano (Ostuni), oltre a reperti faunistici a questi contemporanei, al fine di eseguire analisi degli isotopi del carbonio e dell'azoto su collagene osseo. Queste analisi permettono di determinare l'ecosistema di origine della componente proteica dei cibi consumati e, specificatamente, se questi ultimi fossero in prevalenza terrestri, dulciacquicoli o marini. Inoltre, poiché la composizione isotopica dell'azoto varia in base allivello trofico di un organismo all'interno della catena alimentare, le analisi isotopiche forniscono anche utili indicazioni sull'importanza del consumo carneo. L'estrazione di collagene ben preservato è stata portata a termine con successo nel caso di tutti gli inumati in questione e la datazione al radiocarbonio AMS degli estratti ha confermato la loro attribuzione crono-stratigrafica al gravettiano. Nel complesso le analisi degli isotopi del carbonio e dell'azoto dimostrano come la dieta di questi cacciatori­ raccoglitori fosse incentrata principalmente sul consumo della carne di erbivori terrestri di taglia medio-grande, in linea con le ricostruzioni archeozoologiche. I valori degli isotopi dell'azoto del collagene osseo, tuttavia, differiscono tra gli individui esaminati. Il presente studio valuta se questa differenza sia legata ai cambiamenti ambientali intercorsi tra le vite dei diversi inumati in questione o se sia dovuta al consumo di risorse acquatiche da parte di alcuni di essi.

The Ischio–pubic Proportions in Skeletal Sex Determination: Evaluation in a Recent Sample of Known Sex. E. Vacca, A. Todero Sexual dimorphism of bony pelvis has been largely studied and it constitutes a major field in anthropological practice. The criteria supporting the widely used osteometryc techniques of sex attribution are population specific and cannot be generalized. This specificity is shared by characteristic pelvic features, such as the relative length of the ischium and the pubis, despite the fact that they offer the most reliable evidence for sex identification (Ferembach et al., 1980; Novotny, 1986). This work presents the metric characterization of the ischio–pubic proportions in a recent sample of known sex from southern Italy (Apulia). A preliminary evaluation of discriminant power of the obtained characterization, based on the ischio-pubic proportions only, gives a correct attribution ranging between 92 and 96%. The work focuses on some specific relations in the relative length of the ischium and the pubis, highlighted by a comparison of the variability of the studied sample with that of other populations. In addition, the study also illustrates how ignoring this variability can cause misclassification. Finally, the study confirms that the combination of representative characters of the various pelvic traits is needed to obtain the correct attribution of sex in recent known populations. References. Ferembach D., Schwidetzky I. and Stloukal M., 1980. Recommendations for age and sex diagnoses of skeletons. Workshop of European Anthropologists. Journal of Human Evolution, 9: 517-549. Novotny V., 1986. Sex determination of the pelvic bone: a system approach. Anthropologie XXIV, 2-3: 197-206.

The ability of human pelvic bones to sexually differentiate has been of great interest in forensic anthropology for quite some time as it allows for the determination of skeletal sex by combining metric and morphological data. However, the criteria for determining the sex of a skeleton must be calibrated according to the variability of the population to which it belongs. The aim of this work is the metric characterization of the human coxal bone on a recent sample (of known sex) from the region of Apulia, in southern Italy, in order to establish its efficacy in sex determination by way of multivariate discriminant analysis. Seventeen standard anthropological measurements used in sex determination were taken from 168 coxal bones (78 males and 90 females) all belonging to 86 adult skeletons (40 males and 46 females). The bones used were taken from subjects who had died in the 1960s and 1970s in Apulia. The results obtained define the variability in size and proportion of the sample analyzed with respect to the variations of other skeletal populations. Nine discriminant functions, utilizing between 4 and 11 variables, have been shown to be useful in determining the sex of coxal bones, whether they be complete, partial, or fragmented. All of the functions selected resulted in an attribution error equal to zero, and differ only in the number of variables utilized and by the degree of separation between the groups. The results of this study confirm the validity and utility of diagnostic techniques based on discriminant functions as reported in the literature for other population groups. The combination of metric characteristics from various regions of the coxal bone is, therefore, a valid aid in the correct attribution of skeletal sex even when the combination of variables is numerically limited, but sufficient in sex determination from partial coxal bones.

The presence of "pygmy" or pygmoid groups among New Guinea populations has been the object of scientific interest since the end of the nineteenth century. Morphological and molecular data are used here to study western New Guinea population variability, focusing in particular on two pygmoid groups living in the eastern fringe highlands of Papua: the Una and the Ketengban. Various kinds of anthropometric data are examined, as well as height, weight, and body mass index, to carry out comparisons with nearby ethnic groups living in the highland and lowland regions. The Ketengban data were also compared with other data recorded 20 years before. The results of previous research on the sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA hypervariable segment 1 region and nuclear DNA nonrecombining Y-chromosome polymorphisms are presented. Both morphological and molecular studies involve adult subjects of both genders, representative of the same ethnic groups and/or geographic regions. The pygmoid groups turn out to be significantly different from all other study groups, due to their small size, as confirmed by analysis of variance, although significant height and weight increments are observed with respect to those previously recorded. However, putative neutral genetic variation estimated from mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome markers support a recent shared common history between these pygmoid populations and the other central Papua groups (except for the Dani-Lani). These findings suggest that the short-stature phenotype is an independent secondary adaptation, possibly driven by an iodine-deficient environment, which leaves the potential for further investigations.