Why are pygmies small?

1987/10/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Anatomia/Fisiologia

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A hormone called IGF can be the cause of the low height of the pygmies. To this conclusion comes the research team led by Dr. Thomas Mérimée of the University of Florida, which has carried out complicated and prolonged studies with 64 Iti pygmies.

The IGF blood rate of the pygmies has been compared with that of other populations (tribes of Bantu, Indian and New Guinea). The rate of hormones in children is about 89 ng/ml in the pygmies and 108 ng/ml in the others. When puberty comes, the thing changes radically: While the rate of pygmies increases slightly (154 ng/ml), that of others increases considerably (435 ng/ml).

Since this hormone is responsible for the growth of puberty, the destiny of the pygmies is written.