If the research developed by the Paris Descartes University was correct, humanity has already reached its highest biological level – physical fitness, in particular – and there will be no future improvements for the species. Human being, says the study, has his share of responsibility in these data.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology, suggests that humanity has reached its limit with regard to physical fitness and that, from now on, there is no room for further improvement.
The article suggests that man is an integral part of the problem, underlining as reasons for this negative impact on our biological limits – the fact of “damaging” the environment, with particular attention to pollution and climate change – are the result of his conduct.
A multidisciplinary team, led by the physician Jean-François Toussaint, conducted an analysis of over 160 studies developed over the last 120 years. At the base of the study, the team focused on factors such as longevity, athletic performance, height over time and the environment.
They concluded that life expectancy, physical performance and height have stabilized since the 1980s, even though they have grown steadily during the 20th century. “These characteristics do not increase any more, despite continued nutritional, medical and scientific advances,” Toussaint explained. “This suggests that modern societies have allowed our species to reach its limits“.
The research team supports analysis with medical records and sports that allow to measure, over the last century and precisely, factors such as physical performance. One hundred years after these records, declines are falling, with declining life expectancy and with sports records remaining at the top in more and more time.
Health and height statistics are gradually increasing, but in Africa, inadequate nutrition tends to lower these rates. For the scientists and authors of the study, environmental factors are the main cause for which we have reached this “biological peak”.
Environmental pollution has been associated with lower birth weight, poor health and lower life expectancy, along with climate change. “Observing the declining trends could provide a first sign that something has changed, but not for the better“, reaffirms Toussaint. “The current decline in human capabilities that we can see today is a sign of the fact that environmental changes, including climate change, are already contributing to increasing constraints that we now have to consider,” he adds.
The study therefore warns the community and governments around the world to refer to these data, so that measures can be put in place to combat them and, therefore, that the population reaches higher biological values.
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