Articles

Introduction. Child overweight demonstrates a catastrophic spread across all economically developed countries of the world, despite global efforts for its prevention. The aim of this research paper was to analyze predictors of overweight, the consequences of its development, and approaches to its prevention in children.

Materials and Methods. To analyze the current state of knowledge on excess weight in children aged 3-12 years, materials from 168 literature sources from the PubMed database were used. The inclusion criteria for a source were representative samples and the availability of quantitative data for children in the age range from 3 to 12 years, characterizing one or another aspect of the problem of excess weight. The information search was conducted in the following areas: "preschool and primary school children", "overweight and/or obesity", "diet", "screen time", "sedentary lifestyle", "sleep quality", "physical (muscular) performance", "physical fitness", "physical (motor) activity", "environmental influence".

Results and discussion In Report 1, the role of low physical activity, distribution of time for different types of activity, improper diet, eating behavior, meal structure, and regularity was systematized.

Conclusion. The materials reviewed in Report 1 demonstrate the global distribution of overweight and obesity, and highlight the significant role of low physical activity in creating conditions for the development of overweight and metabolic syndrome in childhood. Even a slight reallocation of time during the day, with just a 10% increase in time spent on active movement, can alleviate the severity of the problem and prevent the development of overweight in significant segments of the child population. An improper diet, particularly the regular consumption of sweetened beverages by children, also contributes significantly to the development of overweight. Other aspects of the overweight problem in children, including the role of the environment, family, and socio-economic factors, will be discussed in Report 2.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of № 073-00070-25-03 от 29.05.2025

Introduction. This paper presents the results of a study of the skeletal remains of a child from Burial 6, Excavation 1, Pit 10 of the «Orlinoye Gnezdo» (Eagle's Nest) settlement. The archaeological complex finds parallels with materials from the Samosdelka settlement, specifically layers dating back to the 12th-13th centuries, allowing the site to be attributed to the vicinity of the city of Saksin. As a result of archaeological work at the site, the skeletal remains of 11 individuals were discovered.

Materials and methods. The study was based on the skeletal remains of a 1,5-4 - year-old child from Burial 6, Excavation 1, Pit 10, which can only conditionally be dated back to the first half of the 14th century.

The anthropological material was analyzed using a standard protocol for assessing pathological conditions (Buzhilova, 1995, 1998). The description of the defects on the child's skull bones employed the terminology and recommendations for the study of skeletal remains proposed by specialists in forensic medical examination (Vlasyuk, 2012; Odinochkina, 2016). The child’s age was determined based on dental development and the length of diaphyses of the postcranial long bones (Ubelaker, 1978; Cardoso et al., 2014; Kufterin, 2024). Radiographic examination of the skeletal remains was conducted using the KRD-50/7 Helpic-Renex diagnostic X-ray system.

Results and discussion. The archaeological context suggests that Pit 10, located in squares 26, 27, 34, and 35 at the level of Situation 2 in Excavation 1 within the boundaries of Pit 10, was a refuse pit into which the child’s body was discarded.

Anthropological examination of the child’s skeletal remains revealed several pathological conditions: signs of porosity on the alveolar margins of the upper and lower jaws, the hard palate, and the lateral surfaces of the tibial diaphyses. The orbital roofs exhibit traces of cribra orbitalia. Light-colored dental calculus deposits were observed on the deciduous teeth. The defects located on the right and left supraorbital margins of the frontal bone and on the right greater wing of the sphenoid bone from the endocranial side are of particular interest.

Conclusion. The incisions identified on the child's frontal bone and on the right greater wing of the sphenoid bone occurred after the individual’s death. The defects discovered on the cranial vault bones are most likely the result of destructive bites from small rodents.

Funding. The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 24-28-00772 «Anthropological Study of Polyethnic Medieval Societies in the Lower Volga Region».

Introduction. Cremated skeletal remains are characterized by a high degree of fragmentation, which occurs both due to physical processes in the bone tissue and due to the actions of people who cremate the corpse. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the type of bone tissue, the degree of bone fragmentation, and the degree of burning of the organic component during cremation on a pyre.

Materials and methods. The materials (178 observations of the contents of fire pits) were obtained during the Russian-Indian anthropological expedition of the Paleoethnological Research Center and the State Biology Museum in 2018, 2019 and 2022. Observations were conducted in the city of Agra on the territory of the Tajganj cremation center. The duration of complete incineration of soft tissues was recorded, as well as the body size and the somatotype, using three-point assessment scales. In addition, the composition and condition of the cremated skeletal elements were described. Statistical tests for assessing the significance of differences were used to compare samples of spongy and compact bone tissue.

Results and discussion. The spongy bone of the vertebrae, sacrum and pelvis demonstrates a greater degree of destruction than the spongy bone of the femoral and tibial epiphyses. This is probably due to consequence of microstructural differences in the structure of spongy bones. The ochre color is more often observed in the spongy bone, and gray color – in the compact, which is explained by a larger proportion (and, accordingly, a lower degree of burnout) of organic matter in the spongy bone compared to the compact. A significant frequency of black color was recorded on the compact tissue of the long bone diaphyses, which is associated with the combustion of bone marrow under conditions of oxygen deficiency.

Conclusion. The duration and intensity of the flames of funeral pyres may not be sufficient to completely burn out the organic component of the bone. Significant fragmentation of skeletal remains can be achieved without intensive mechanical action. The degree of fragmentation of skeletal elements is not affected by the type of funeral pyre, the size and somatotype of the body, or the sex or age of the deceased.

Introduction. The purpose of the work: to publish new information from the biography of sculptor and artist Ivan Illarionovich Sevryugin and genealogical data about his family; as well as for the first time to present new information about masks, busts and dummies made by I.I. Sevryugin for the First Anthropological Exhibition and stored in the Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Materials and methods. The article is based on the archival documents of the Central State Archive of the city of Moscow (metric books, confessional sheets, audit tales, population census materials); materials from the scientific archive of the Moscow State University Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology (the Museum's Book of Acquisitions, collection inventories), as well as periodicals of the XIX century and other open sources. Historiographical, chronological and analytical research methods were used in the work.

Results and discussion. Based on the studied archival materials, it was possible to clarify the following information from the biography of I.I. Sevryugin. Ivan Illarionovich Sevryugin was born on August 2, 1838 in the family of Moscow workshop worker Illarion Illarionovich Sevryugin and his wife Anna Gerasimovna. Seven children were born in the family, but according to the data we found, three of them died in childhood. Ivan Illarionovich was married to the daughter of the priest of the village of Antonchikova, Kashirsky district, Tula region, Savva Leontievich Troitsky, Anna Savvishna Troitskaya, born in 1845. They had four children: Gregory, Alexander, Philip and Ivan. Alexander and Philip died as children. I.I. Sevryugina was buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery.

A brief description is given of the sculptural works of I.I. Sevryugin preserved in the collection of the Museum of Anthropology of Moscow State University: masks, busts and dummies, which were created for the Anthropological Exhibition in Moscow (1879) and were exhibited in the Exhibition halls to show the general public the ethnic diversity of the world's population.

Conclusion. Biographical information about Ivan Illarionovich Sevryugin himself, as well as about his close relatives (surnames, first names, dates of life), was supplemented; the burial place of members of the Sevryugin family was established. Masks, busts and dummies created by I.I. Sevryugin, which are kept in the sculptural fund of the photo-illustrative department of the Museum of Anthropology of Moscow State University, are material evidence of the history of the development of anthropology in the country. According to the members of the Committee of the Anthropological Exhibition, I.I. Sevryugin was able to express scientific ideas in an artistic form about the ethnic diversity of the population of Russia and other countries.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Introduction. Skulls from the medieval necropolis Shulluktepa (Nesef, XI-XII centuries) were previously studied using 2D geometric morphometrics. Based on the analysis of the sagittal contour, two types of artificial cranial deformation were identified. These types could be associated with different populations gathering in this urban center of Southern Sogdiana. We observed that samples with different types of deformation could be clearly distinguished, while undeformed skulls differ from slightly deformed insignificantly. 3D models and the landmark’s placement algorithm we have developed allow us to utilize these materials again.

Materials and methods. 3D models of skulls from Shulluktepa (MAE No. 7275) were studied using geometric morphometrics. The sample included 44 male and 42 female skulls. The types of deformation were analyzed through processing the landmark’s coordinates within a triangular patch between craniometric points (bregma, left and right asterions). The surface of this patch was automatically filled with semilandmarks. The comparison was carried out using generalized Procrustes analysis, Principal component analysis and canonical analysis realized in R-Studio.

Results and discussion. Based on the analysis results artificially deformed skulls were divided into two types of cranial deformation — parietal and occipital. 3D methods, unlike 2D, allowed us to identify undeformed skulls. There are no differences between males and females in case of parietal deformation, but occipital deformation is more pronounced in males. Comparison of the viscerocranium and neurocranium variability confirmed their independence. There is no influence of interpopulation differences on the results of the neurocrania shape study.

Conclusion. The presence of two types of artificial cranial deformation in the group was proved. It was shown that a triangular patch is more advantageous for the study of artificial deformation than analysis of 2D sagittal contours. Results of the comparison of viscerocranium and neurocranium variability can be used to verify the possible influence of interpopulation differences.

Funding. The research was carried out with the support of grant Russian Scientific Found No. 25-28-01027 "Artificial deformation of the human skull in ancient and near-modern populations: a study by methods of two-dimensional and three- dimensional geometric morphometry”.

Introduction. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a computational approach used to explore complex social and cultural processes by simulating the behaviors of individual agents–people or groups–within a defined environment. By incorporating individual variation, agent interactions, and responses to environmental conditions, ABM is particularly valuable for reconstructing past patterns of migration, settlement, and the evolution of social institutions. Although widely adopted in international archaeology and anthropology, ABM remains underutilized in Russian research contexts.

Materials and methods. This review is based on academic publications available in open sources and identified through specialized search platforms such as Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Semantic Scholar. From over 70 initial records, 25 studies were selected that met the criteria of model reproducibility and interdisciplinary integration of archaeological, genetic, and climatic data.

Results. ABM has been applied to a wide range of prehistoric scenarios, including the Out-of-Africa dispersal of Homo sapiens, the Neolithic expansion, Eurasian population movements, interactions between migrants and indigenous groups, and the cultural evolution of language and institutions. These models highlight the roles of climate, population density, and social norms in shaping human behavior and long-term dynamics.

Discussion. Despite its strengths, ABM faces several challenges, including sensitivity to parameter choices, limited reproducibility, and simplified representations of culture. Advancing the method requires better integration of biological, social, and cultural dimensions, along with open access to model code and data for transparency and replication.

Conclusion. ABM represents an emerging research paradigm that links micro-level agent behavior with macro-level processes of social, demographic, and cultural evolution. It offers a powerful interdisciplinary framework for exploring human prehistory and alternative trajectories of societal development.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Introduction. The article is dedicated to a comprehensive study of a male mummy from the Egyptological collection of the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.

Materials and methods. The mummy of a male stripped of its funerary bandages and shrouds, was donated by Professor A.I. Babukhin in 1876 to D.N. Anuchin, the museum’s founder. Since 2016, the mummy has been the object of detailed studies conducted by the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of the Lomonosov MSU. The study employed the methodologies of diverse scientific disciplines: anthropological study based on computer tomography data, textile analysis, radiocarbon dating, gas chromatography and mass-spectrometry studies, archeopalynological investigation etc.

Results and discussion. A facial reconstruction and a craniological and osteological description of the mummy were produced using computed tomography (CT) data. The interdisciplinary studies have revealed the specific features of the mummification method, which was characteristic of the Late New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period, but also continued in later periods. The chromatographic analysis of the skin samples revealed a complex mix of embalming agents, one of which was pine resin. This is consistent with data obtained by spore-pollen analysis. The technological characteristics of the burial textiles preserved on the mummy were also studied. The age of the mummy could be determined through radiocarbon dating as 3,080 ± 35 BP (2σ 1426–1259 cal BC), indicating that the individual in question lived during the Eighteenth – first half of the Nineteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom.

Funding. his article was written with the support of the Lomonosov MSU Program of Development. Project No 23 Sch 02-22 "Hystory, anthropology and ethnology of the North-Eastern Africa in context of Ecological Changes during last 13 millenia. Interdisciplinary Research" Archeopalynological investigations were carried out within the framework of the issue Scientific Research Work of the Institute of Archaeology RAS “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Studying the Formation and Development of Ancient and Medieval Anthropogenic Ecosystems” (No. of R&D 122011200264-9). The textile studies were carried out within the framework of RSF grant ‘A comprehensive study of archaeological textile and pottery using natural science techniques, based on the findings of the Nubian expedition conducted by Moscow State University’ (№ 25-28-01025)

Introduction. This publication has a twofold aim: (1) to present a probable case of a metabolic disease in a Late Bronze Age child skeleton from the Southern Trans-Urals, and (2) to examine the diagnostic potential of classification tree algorithms for differentiating infantile scurvy and rickets in osteological material.

Materials and methods. The skeleton of a 4–8-month-old child with pathological changes was found in Kurgan 1 of the Nepluyevsky cemetery, attributed to the Srubnaya-Alakul cultural type. The observed pathological changes are consistent with rickets and/or scurvy. Differential diagnosis between these two conditions was performed using classification tree analysis (Statistica 12.0 package), based on 13 parameters and a dataset of 110 paleopathological cases of metabolic disorders (72 cases of rickets and 38 of scurvy). Two classification models were constructed using CHAID algorithm, each employing a different approach to handling missing data. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive likelihood ratio were calculated to assess classification quality. In addition, correlation coefficients were computed for all input variables.

Results and discussion. The combination of macroscopic and radiographic features indicates that the child was suffering from a metabolic disorder, most consistent with rickets. The obtained decision trees demonstrate high classification accuracy (93.6%) and a high positive likelihood ratio.

Conclusion. The child from Kurgan 1 represents one of the earliest and the first reliably documented paleopathological case of rickets from the study region. The resulting decision trees show that rickets and scurvy can be differentiated using three features: long-bone deformity and general thickening, and abnormalities on bone underlying growth plates.

Acknowledgements. The article has been written in accordance with the research plans of the N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS (Theme No. 5. Human ultrasociality: Biosocial and cross-cultural aspects – R & D No. 124112200079-1) (V.V. Kufterin). The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University (M.K. Karapetian).

Introduction. Early detection and timely initiation of therapy for increasingly prevalent interstitial lung diseases are key factors for a favorable prognosis. The study investigated the potential of classical anthropometric methods for identifying individual risk factor predictors in patients with interstitial lung diseases and carbohydrate metabolism disorders, given the established significant link between the manifestations of both pathologies.

Materials and Methods. Medical and anthropometric data from the examination of 31 patients with diagnosed interstitial lung diseases (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis) were included in the study. Statistical data processing was performed using software packages: Microsoft Excel 2010, MedCalc 23.2.8, Statistica 12.0.

Results and discussion. Significant differences were found between men with two different types of interstitial lung diseases in age and shoulder circumferences. The level of fat component development is higher in patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis than in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Statistically significant Kendall correlation coefficients were obtained: between insulin level and body mass index (0.34), insulin level and the number of COVID-19 infections (0.30), p<0.05. Patients with interstitial lung diseases, especially hypersensitivity pneumonitis, belong to a risk group, having body mass index exceeding healthy indicators, primarily due to increased fat deposition. A link was noted between certain morphological markers of diabetes mellitus – signs characterizing high fat component development – and high insulin levels with the incidence of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a form of interstitial lung disease. The identified associations in patients with interstitial lung diseases between morphological and medical indicators of carbohydrate metabolism disorders, and with the incidence of a specific viral infection, suggest a complex interplay of pathologies, exacerbated by age-related changes.

Conclusion. To more accurately assess the relationship between morphological characteristics in type 2 diabetes mellitus and the onset and course of interstitial lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, research on a larger sample size and complete clinical data is necessary.

Acknowledgements. The anthropological part of the study was conducted as part of a state order from Lomonosov Moscow State University (A.A. Vasileva, L.V. Zadorozhnaya). The medical part of the study was conducted as part of the research project "Interstitial lung diseases: study of predictors of progression and unfavorable prognosis in patients with carbohydrate disorders" (G.Y. Babadjanova, T.A. Savina).

The authors express their sincere gratitude to the staff of the Department of Pulmonology at the N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute of Clinical Medicine at Sechenov University: Head of the Department, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor S.N. Avdeev; Associate Professor of the Department, PhD N.V. Trushenko; Assistant Professor of the Department O.A. Suvorova; and Resident Doctor Yu.A. Levina for the opportunity to organize the patient examinations, as well as to the patients for their responsiveness and responsible participation in the study.

Introduction. We analyzed the distribution of caries, linear enamel hypoplasia, dental trauma and ante-mortem tooth loss in groups of different age and sex from one of the largest Mesolithic necropolises in North-West Europe – the Yuzhny Oleniy Ostrov cemetery. The main objectives of the study were: reconstruction of the model of socioeconomic differentiation based on paleodietary markers characterizing the level of nutritional stress in the population; testing the previously put forward hypothesis based on archaeological materials suggesting the complex structure of the society, which left the burial ground and the differences in position of individuals related to a particular age and sex groups they belong; assessing the extent to which the climate crisis of 8200 BP affected the level of biological stress of the Mesolithic population.

Materials and methods. All adult males and females in the series were divided into four age cohorts: juvenilis, adultus, maturus, senilis. For each sex and for each age group within it, dental pathologies frequencies were calculated and the differences were tested for reliability using the Pearson χ2 criterion with Yates's correction.

Results and discussion. The results of the analysis showed the absence of significant differences between males and females based on frequencies of caries, linear enamel hypoplasia, dental calculus and ante-mortem trauma. This indicates that the life support system of the people from Yuzhny Oleniy Ostrov was egalitarian in nature, which did not imply food discrimination of the adults based on sex. The absence of significant differences between different age categories for most of pathologies, with the exception of enamel fractures, also showed that their strategy for providing the necessary food resources was highly adaptive and allowed them to maintain the same level of stress throughout the lives of at least three generations of people buried in the cemetery. This is confirmed by the very low frequency of enamel hypoplasia observed in the series despite serious climatic fluctuations.

Conclusions. In general, the intra-group distribution of the dental pathologies frequencies corresponds to an equal access to food resources for any member of the community and the absence of the economical differentiation based on sex or age.

Acknowledgements. The work was carried out within the framework research and development plan of the MAE RAS "Centers of ethno- and cultural genesis and contact zones in Eurasia and America at the end of the Pleistocene and Holocene (according to physical anthropology, archeology and ethnology)"

Introduction. The study presents an osteometric analysis of the postcranial skeleton from the Medieval population of Deraheib (Sudan, 9th-11th centuries CE), identified with the gold-mining and trading center of Al-Allaqi. The research aims to integrate morphological characteristics of the series into existing datasets and contextualize Deraheib's population against earlier and contemporaneous groups from North/South Africa and Southern Europe.

Materials and methods. The study examined skeletal remains of 23 adults (14 males, 9 females) from Muslim burials at the Southern Necropolis. A standard osteometric protocol (74 measurements) focused on limb proportions. Comparative analysis included 15 series from North/South Africa and Southern Europe using multivariate statistics (canonical discriminant analysis, decision trees).

Results and discussion. The Deraheib series occupies an intermediate morphological position among Northeast African groups. Lower limb proportions show affinities with Egyptian series and one Lower Nubian group (Sayala), featuring relatively elongated tibiae. Upper limb characteristics align with Upper Nubian (Kerma) and Egyptian (Deir el-Banat) groups, displaying developed distal segments. Females particularly resemble the Sayala series in maximal tibiofemoral indices. Multivariate analysis indicates closest similarity with Deir el-Banat.

Conclusion. The research reveals complex biological diversity in the region, demonstrating both geographical patterning (distinct Nubian, Sudanese, Egyptian clusters) and population-specific traits. Observed morphological variation likely resulted from local ecological adaptation, ethnic cultural practices, and intensive migration at this trade route crossroads.

Funding. This work was done with the support of MSU Program of Development, Project No 23-SCH02-22 (agreement number 004179) NOSH MSU Preservation of world cultural and historical heritage “History, anthropology and ethnology of Northeast Africa in the context of environmental changes over the last 13 thousand years (experience of interdisciplinary research)”.

Acknowledgements. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the director of the Research Institute and the Museum of Anthropology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dr. A.P. Buzhilova, as well as to the Paleoethnology Research Center, and personally to the deputy director for science of the Paleoethnology Research Center, Ph.D. D.V. Pezhemsky for their help in organizing the expedition and for valuable recommendations and comments.

Introduction. This study characterizes a set of facial morphological traits in the indigenous Russian population of the Volga-Oka region to identify anthropological distinctiveness and reveal traces of Slavic-Finnic interaction. Based on the studies of the autosomal and Y-chromosomal gene pools, we hypothesize to reveal traces of Pre-Slavic population in anthropological appearance Russians of Volga-Oka region.

Materials and Methods. A cephaloscopic analysis of 146 anthropological photographs of males of Kadomsky, Kasimovsky, Shilovsky districts of Ryazan Oblast was conducted; for comparative analysis, anthropological data on the Erzya and Moksha populations of Mordovia were also included. For all individuals, ethnicity was traced to a depth of three generations (both paternal and maternal lines). Fourteen descriptive traits were evaluated. The analysis employed statistical methods (Kruskal-Wallis, χ²; distance analysis) and the generalized portrait method.

Results and discussion. Generalized anthropological portraits of the Russians from the northeastern part of Ryazan Oblast were created for the first time, and frequencies and mean scores of several descriptive facial morphological traits were analyzed. Differences were revealed among the Russian populations of the three districts of Ryazan Oblast. Against the background of other districts, the Russian population of Kasimovsky district stands out (visually characterized by overall gracility, stronger facial profiling, a higher nasal bridge, etc.). A hypothesis is proposed that their distinctiveness arises from a greater manifestation of traces of pre-Slavic populations (Meshchera, Muroma tribes) in their facial morphology.

Conclusion. The anthropological distinctiveness of the Russians in Kasimovsky district may indicate the preservation of a pre-Slavic substrate. The identified anthropological uniqueness of the Russian population of the Volga-Oka region confirms the need for further study of Slavic-Finnic interaction.

Funding. The study has been supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), project No. 25-28-01594.

Introduction. The accumulation of regional data on the expression of secular trends in growth contributes to a better understanding of this phenomenon. The present study focuses on the height of the population of Perm, a large industrial, administrative, and cultural center in the Urals. This work aimed to systematize data on changes in height and growth processes in children and young adults of Perm from 1878 to 2024.

Materials and methods. The analysis includes data on the height of school-age children collected by different authors during 8 cross-sectional surveys, conducted between 1884 and 2024. Data for 2018 and 2024 were collected by the authors. Additionally, we used data on the height of young (20-25 years old) adults from 1878 to 2003.

We examined the differences in height between coevals in different datasets and tracked the manifestations of growth spurt in these datasets. The annual increase in height was estimated from differences in height between successive age groups within and between datasets.

Results and Discussion. In the period from 1963 to 1981, children aged 8, 11, 14, and 16 years had the highest average annual rate of height increment. In 1993 and 2018, a decreasing trend was observed in this rate. This growth deceleration also manifested in the smaller height increase of women born in 1984-86 as compared to those born earlier.

The prepubertal growth spurt is only noticeable in the 1878 dataset in boys 10-11 and girls 10 years old. Apparently, the biological age of “first childhood” occurred later in the 19th century than it is today. The pubertal peak of height gain in 1963-2018 varied in boys at 13-14 and in girls at 11-13 years of age, but in 1878 it was shown later in girls at the age of 14.

Conclusion. In the period from 1963 to 1981, children aged 8, 11, 14, and 16 years had the highest average annual rate of height increment. In 1993 and 2018, a decreasing trend was observed in this rate. This growth deceleration also manifested in the smaller height of women born in 1984-86 as compared to those born earlier.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University (Kozlov A.I., Vershubskaya G.G.), within the framework of the Basic Research Program at HSE University, and the State assignment of Research Center for Medical Genetics.

Introduction. Scientific and medical communities are looking for various markers indicating the individual risk of gaining excess body fat due to the high prevalence of excess body weight. One of such markers is presumably the ratio of leg length to body height (leg-to-height ratio). There is evidence that leg length reflects the influence of environmental factors on the development of individuals. Due to conflicting data on the relationship between the leg-to-height ratio and percentage body fat, the aim of this work is to study the associations of leg length and fat deposition indicators using a sample of Chuvash people from the villages of the Yadrinsky District of the Chuvashia Republic as an example.

Materials and methods. The work analyzes the materials of an anthropometric survey of 226 Chuvash people - residents of the villages of the Yadrinsky District of Chuvashia (113 men and 113 women) aged 21-85 years. Standard anthropometric indicators were measured, and lengths of the leg, thigh and shin, percentage body fat and leg-to-height ratio were calculated. Pearson correlation coefficients between the studied features and indices were also calculated.

Results and discussion. In the male and female groups, the proportion of body fat mass is much more closely related to waist circumference (r = 0.80 for men and r = 0.90 for women) than to leg-to-height ratio (r = 0.04 for men and r = 0.05 for women). Sexual dimorphism in the relationship between the lengths of lower limb segments and the proportion of body fat mass was found. Leg length in the male group is related to the proportion of body fat mass by the coefficient r = -0.30 (in women r = -0.09). In our work, we examined a group of individuals homogeneous in ethno-territorial affiliation, but we do not have data on the economic well-being of the subjects and the factors influencing their pre- and postnatal development.

Conclusion. The negative relationship between leg-to-height ratio and percentage body fat found by other authors was not confirmed in our study. However, in men, a moderate negative association was found between the proportion of body fat and leg length and leg segment lengths.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University. The materials "Database on morphological features in the adult Chuvash population of the Yadrinsky district of Chuvashia (group 102)" were transferred to the author by Doctor of Biology V.A. Batsevich in 2023 to carry out this study. Currently, these materials are part of the archival fund of Dr. V.A. Batsevich. The author expresses his deep gratitude to the Doctor of Historical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences A.P. Buzhilova for the idea of the study, valuable comments and editing of the text of the manual.

Introduction. Time dynamics of sex somatic dimorphism through the youth period is discussed as the marker of secular trends.

Material and methods. The study embraces historic period from 1920^s till now. The main source of data – books on physical development of children and adolescents from cities and rural regions of Russia and the USSR. One-year age groups of 17-year-old young people are under discussion. The quantitative estimation of sex somatic dimorphism value was held using Kullback divergence, an analogue of Makhalanobis distance. The estimation of the vector and level of associations of sex dimorphism of anthropometric traits and secular factor was held using correlation analysis. The analysis of local patterns of secular sex dimorphism dynamics of separate dimensions was held using samples of Moscow youth, as well as Novosibirsk, Leningrad and Ekaterinburg youth through several decades.

Results. Meta-analysis based on the total data base fix significant secular increase of sex dimorphism of weight. The local Moscow sample shows the increase of sex dimorphism of height through the historic interval 1920^s–1970^s, and further stabilization up to 2018 at the level of 2 standard deviations. Ekaterinburg sample shows a decrease of height-weight sex dimorphism through the historic interval 1971–2019. Novosibirsk sample shows an increase of height-weight sex dimorphism through the time interval 1958–1989, the most intensive dynamics takes place in the 1970^s.

Discussion. Sex somatic dimorphism through the youth period is a valid marker of secular somatic dynamics and has local specificity. Summarizing of local trends may smooth this specificity, which is fixed in meta-analysis. Sex dimorphism of weight increase in time apart with the increase of the level of anthropogenic stress and global obesity epidemic, which reflects the evolutionary-based sexual difference sensitivity of adipose tissue to the influence of «obesogenic» factors of environment. Comparison of the secular dynamics of the levels of sex dimorphism through the range of consequent periods of ascending ontogeny witness, that significant markers of secular trends and quality of environment as a whole are sex dimorphism values in the periods of the most revolutionary, thus most ecosensitive, morpho-functional processes in the organism – infant and adolescent.

Conclusion. The significance of the sex somatic dimorphism as the criterion of secular dynamics for the 17-year-old young people is confirmed. Local differences in the ecological niche of the population, among them the degree of urbanization and the historic period of study, contribute to the intensity and vector of the secular sex dimorphism dynamics. Secular macrosomization of one sex compared to the other is not the exclusive prerogative of the male sex. Quantitative sex dimorphism level is the informative instrument of population monitoring of growth processes and the indicator of the quality of the ecological niche of the population.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University.