Hasil untuk "Physical anthropology. Somatology"

J. Quesada, L. Hart, Philippe Bourgois

Salvatore Giammanco, Vincenza Maiolino, Andrea Ursino et al.

This work presents the results of an integrated monitoring of soil radon gas and seismic activity at Mt. Etna from August 2023 to May 2025, aimed at enhancing comprehension of magma migration and eruption dynamics. Radon data were collected using a permanent station with an alpha particle probe, aggregated hourly. The INGV-OE network monitored seismic activity at 100 Hz; volcanic tremor was analyzed using Root-Mean-Square (RMS) values from the Serra La Nave station. Earthquakes were located using the Hypoellipse algorithm and a 1D crustal velocity model. A robust correlation was found between radon and RMS anomalies, with the former preceding the latter with increasing probability over time (e.g., 30.1% within 1 day, 46.4% within 3 days). Correlations were also found between radon anomalies and Strombolian activity at the summit craters (e.g., 23.8% within 1 day for the Central Crater), suggesting a potential predictive role for radon. Conversely, correlations with paroxysmal events were weaker in the short term but increased over longer time windows. No clear correlation was found between radon anomalies and seismic strain release, likely due to differing temporal resolutions. These results support the idea that radon plays a role as a short-term precursor in volcanic unrest.

Omar Vicencio-Campos, Luis Chirino-Gálvez, Jhonatan Alarcón-Muñoz et al.

Since its founding in 1870, the Colegio Seminario San Rafael of Valparaíso has offered natural science-related courses, complemented by laboratory work. Thus, in 1881, five science “cabinets” were established within the school premises, and in 1886, the building that still houses them was inaugurated. The Museo Seminario Valparaíso (MSV) houses various natural history collections, among which a notable paleontological collection stands out, comprising paleobotanical, invertebrate, and vertebrate specimens. Within one of the oldest mineral collection showcases, associated with copper oxides and sulfides samples, a proximal fragment of a right sauropod ulna was found. This ulna must have been deposited long ago, which is proven when it is considered that the associated mineral specimens with collection register labels on the shelf dates between 1860 and 1896, and because this collection has not been modified and it has remained unchanged for over a century. On the other hand, it was only in the 1960s that the first formal descriptions of dinosaur bone records in Chile were made, based on indeterminate titanosaur remains from the informal unit “Estratos de Quebrada La Totora”. Morphological comparisons of the ulna suggest affinities with the clade Titanosauria. Furthermore, based on its preservation characteristics, the provenance of the specimen is attributed to the Estratos de Quebrada La Totora, Coquimbo region. In this way, the specimen could represent the first discovery of a non-avian dinosaur in Chile and the first historical evidence of titanosaurs found in a Chilean museum collection.

Piotr Włodarczak, Dagmara H. Werra

In the late 19th century, German researchers Friedrich Klopfleisch and, later, Alfred Götze identified a set of archaeological sources they called “schnurkeramische Kultur” (Corded Ware culture). By the turn of the 20th century, this concept had become widespread in many European countries, effectively defining the phenomenon of cultural unification across a vast area in the 3rd millennium BC. In the first decades of the 20th century, Corded Ware finds inspired the development of studies on European prehistory, transcending local geographical and cultural boundaries. They played a key role in the ethnicising concepts of Gustaf Kossinna’s “Siedlugsarchäologie”, as well as in the formulation of the first ideas of interregional scope, presented by Vere Gordon Childe, concerning the key role of steppe migrations in the cultural and demographic changes in European prehistory. It was probably the methods of “Siedlugsarchäologie” that decisively influenced Corded Ware researchers’ commitment to in-depth typological studies characterising individual regions. 

Sorina-Nicoleta Aurică

This article examines modern medicine as a hybrid social artifact that exists at the crossroads of science, magic, and commerce. Drawing on insights from medical sociology, medical anthropology, and science–technology–society (STS) studies, it develops an integrated theoretical framework that views medicine as an epistemic object, a cultural symbol, and a product of the global political economy. The analysis explores how the processes of medicalization, biomedicalization, and pharmaceuticalization reshape the relationship among the body, identity, and governance, transforming health into a continuous biotechnological endeavor managed through risks, algorithms, and pharmaceutical infrastructures. At the same time, it investigates the symbolic and ‘magical’ aspects of medicine, from the ambivalence of pharmakon and daily rituals of administration to pharmaceutical lives, belief, hope, and conspiracies and demonstrates how these elements intertwine with the economic logic of the globalized pharmaceutical market, characterized by the fetishization and spectacle of commodities, inequalities in access, and regimes of pharmapower. Methodologically, the analysis relies on a theoretical and interpretative review of specialized literature, providing a critical synthesis that considers medicine as a “total social fact” (Mauss, 1925). The article argues that understanding modern medicine requires an interdisciplinary approach that addresses both the physical existence of molecules and their symbolic and economic circulation.

Anika Elema

The purpose of this paper is to look deeper into the connection between divinities, and interpret how a shift in necessity of mortals is reflected through a shift in the attributes the divine were worshipped through. In this process, it becomes more clear as to how the people of ancient Greece viewed their gods and goddesses. Through comparing literary descriptions with archaeological evidence and artistic representations, a more realistic picture of life in ancient Greek cult worship and festivals emerges. In this, we can understand not only how mortals viewed their divinities, but how their worship acted as connections between people; through worship and communal gatherings the divine brought people together in extraordinary ways. This information is useful to anyone studying history, archaeology, mythology, and anthropology. This is also extremely relevant to the philosophy of religion. By looking past surface‐level assumptions and digging deeper into ancient literary descriptions, we possess the ability to uncover the deeper meaning that lies hidden within them. This studies the pantheon through time and space in conjunction with cultural, environmental, and social links that tie in with physical attributes. This anthropology of the gods as fluid figures is argued.

Sabine Hildebrandt

The Vienna Protocol on How to Deal with Holocaust Era Human Remains describes what to do when possibly Jewish human remains are found. Based on Jewish medical ethics, it responds to the 2014-2017 discoveries of human remains stemming from biomedical contexts of the Nazi period. Among the finding sites were the Dahlem campus of the Free University of Berlin, the Medical University of Strasbourg, and Max Planck Institute archives. The Vienna Protocol is unique among similar recommendations on Nazi era human remains in its representation of the voices of those who suffered violence and were targeted as victims by Nazi persecution. In addition to discussing the ethics of dealing with physical human remains, these recommendations address the use of images (i.e., visual data) from the bodies of victims of Nazi violence. This paper presents the historical background of the Vienna Protocol and its impact. It also offers a first analysis as to why, at the time of the protocol's formulation, its authors were unaware of its resonance with ethical considerations from African American bioarcheology and a new ethical culture in bioanthropology. Potential reasons for this disconnect may include the historic marginalization of the voices of black scholars in anthropology within the wider scientific community. However, more detailed studies are needed to analyze similarities and differences between the histories and continuities of antisemitism and racism in Europe and the U.S.A., and their ties with scientific theories and practices of disciplines that gain knowledge from human remains.

D. Koenig

Despite efforts to improve outcomes, resettlement projects that aim to improve livelihoods and living standards of the displaced often do not achieve their goals. Could greater attention to the well‐being of the affected improve resettlement outcomes? This article considers standards of living and well‐being among one resettled group, the Bahingkolu of Manantali, Mali, relocated in the mid‐1980s by construction of the Manantali Dam. Anthropological approaches to well‐being that include a greater understanding of people's own conceptions of well‐being and consider well‐being in relationship to their social and physical worlds help elucidate why the Bahinkolu are unsatisfied with their well‐being despite higher standards of living. Because they can no longer grow enough for food self‐sufficiency, they must encourage family members to work elsewhere, thereby risking the sustainability of the family as a single economic unit. In this context, household heads feel constant anxiety about their ability to maintain a cohesive household. The Bahingkolu publicly maintain that they are “victims of the resettlement” as a strategy to gain more resources for the community. To improve the generally negative consequences of involuntary resettlement, planning should expend more effort to appreciate the conceptions of well‐being among the affected.

Elana Resnick

Environmental sustainability initiatives in Bulgaria generate new forms of racialization. Although institutionally framed as progressive in the name of “green” Europeanization, in practice these initiatives rely on undervalued and unrecognized racialized labor. By attending to the materiality of recycling bins in downtown Sofia and their physical openings—designed to keep hands out—I show how people engage with recycling-based sustainability regimes and the environmental systems in which they are embedded. Bridging analyses of progressivist environmentalism and anthropologies of enclosure, this article introduces the idea of containability to understand the relationship between waste and race. Containability marks a realm of human-waste relations predicated on the aspirational goal of boundedness and the everyday disruptions of it. I examine these relations from the perspectives of waste collectors, recycling executives, Romani neighborhood residents, and international environmental consultants. These insights invite us to rethink the racial and material politics of environmentalism that constitute contemporary urban life.  РЕЗЮМЕ Инициативите за екологична устойчивост в България създават нови форми на расово разделение. Тези инициативи, въпреки че са институционално формулирани като прогресивни в името на „зелената“ европеизация, разчитат на подценен и незачитан расово маркиран труд. Обръщайки внимание на веществеността на контейнерите за рециклиране в центъра на София и на техните физически отвори, проектирани да държат ръцете вън от тях, показвам какво е отношението на хората към устойчивите режими за рециклиране, както и към екологичните системи, в които са вградени. Включвайки анализи от прогресивната екология и от антропологията на ограждането, тази статия въвежда идеята за съдържаемост, за да обясни връзката между отпадъците и расата. Съдържаемостта е област, принадлежаща на връзката хора—отпадъци, която е основана на стремежа към ограничаване и на всекидневните ѝ прекъсванияя. Изследвам тази връзка от перспективата на сметосъбирачи, ръководители по рециклирането, жители на Ромски квартали и международни консултанти по екология. Този поглед ни подканва да преосмислим расовата и материалната екологична политика, върху които е изграден съвременният градски живот.

Claudia Strauss

Does wage labor contribute to well‐being beyond providing an income? Well‐being can be understood in eudaimonic terms as the happiness derived from a socially valued life or in hedonic terms as the experience of pleasure. The eudaimonic–hedonic divide is replicated in competing progressive visions of the place of work in a good life. Laborist theories stress the centrality of paid work for a meaningful life. By contrast, for post‐work theories, pleasure is important for well‐being, and work is generally not expected to be pleasurable. Surprisingly, many of the participants in my study of diverse US job seekers described one or more of the jobs they had held as “fun.” Fun connotes enjoyment without deeper meaning, a hedonic rather than eudaimonic account of nonfinancial work rewards. What made a job fun were small work pleasures: enjoyment of the tasks and feeling competent at them, enjoyment of the physical work environment, or enjoyment of social relations on the job. These small pleasures could be found in both standard and nonstandard, precarious jobs. This study indicates the need for a labor politics that improves hedonic well‐being on the job. It also expands an “anthropology of the good” to include ordinary enjoyment.

Ljubica Milosavljević, Mladen Stajić

This anthropological analysis focuses on the Croatian feature film Night Boats (2012), directed by Igor Mirković. The subject of the movie is a partnership that develops between two residents of a nursing home in Zagreb, highlighting, among other things, numerous problems and difficulties that the elderly face while trying to pursue a new romantic relationship at the very end of their lives, in specific nursing home conditions. The couple’s escape from the nursing home serves as an act of resistance, leaving room for the analysis of visual depictions of the various deprivations encountered by the elderly. Depictions of physical, emotional and economic dependency which result in an inability to make independent decisions, are in accordance with the results attained during several years of field research conducted in nursing homes in the Republic of Serbia. This research, which explores new partnerships as strategies of action among nursing home residents, will be compared with the film’s visual interpretations. Interpreting the visual depiction of deprivation and infirmity, which society associates the elderly with, will also include a semiotic interpretation of the symbolic expression that is used in the movie.

Mohammad Firoze Quamar, Jyotsna Dubey, Pooja Tiwari et al.

We present multiproxy records from a 2.25-m-long lake sediment profile from central India, which suggested that between ~22,200 and 18,658 cal yr BP, the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) was weak, supporting open vegetation in a cool and dry climate, which is globally correlated with the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The grain size data of this phase suggest low-energy conditions, indicating a weak ISM. Environmental magnetic concentration-dependent parameters also confirm this weakened ISM. Between ~18,658 and 7340 cal yr BP, the ISM underwent a notable increase, and open mixed tropical deciduous forests replaced the existing vegetation under a warm and moderately humid climate. Environmental magnetic parameters and the grain size data signal a shift toward higher energy levels, in harmony with the warm and moderately humid climate during this time span. Between ~7340 and 1960 cal yr BP, the ISM intensity further increased, which supported open mixed tropical deciduous forests with a rise in prominent tree species under a warm and a relatively more humid climate, correlated with the global Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO). The trends in environmental magnetic parameters and grain size data mirror this phase of climatic amelioration. From ~1961 cal yr BP to the present, the ISM has intensified, giving rise to dense mixed tropical deciduous forests under a warm and relatively more humid climate. Environmental magnetic parameters and the grain size data are in tandem with the palynogical findings from this phase of the ISM variability.

Bing Dong, Silvia Paracchini, Andy Gardner

The frequency of left-handedness in humans is ~10% worldwide and slightly higher in males than females. Twin and family studies estimate the heritability of human handedness at around 25%. The low but substantial frequency of left-handedness has been suggested to imply negative frequency-dependent selection, e.g. owing to a ‘surprise’ advantage of left-handers in combat against opponents more used to fighting right-handers. Because such game-theoretic hypotheses involve social interaction, here we perform an analysis of the evolution of handedness based on kin-selection, which is understood to play a major role in the evolution of social behaviour generally. We show that: (1) relatedness modulates the balance of right-handedness vs. left-handedness, according to whether left-handedness is marginally selfish vs. marginally altruistic; (2) sex differences in relatedness to social partners may drive sex differences in handedness; (3) differential relatedness of parents and offspring may generate parent–offspring conflict and sexual conflict leading to the evolution of maternal and paternal genetic effects in relation to handedness; and (4) differential relatedness of maternal-origin vs. paternal-origin genes may generate intragenomic conflict leading to the evolution of parent-of-origin-specific gene effects – such as ‘genomic imprinting’ – and associated maladaptation.

L. Shpak

Introduction. The article is devoted to a review of the results of anthropological research of European populations based on visual art, which is conducted in the laboratory of racial studies of the Anuchin Institute and Museum of Anthropology of Moscow State University. Results and discussion. The study of morphological variability of population based on the visual arts is a relatively new interdisciplinary area of physical anthropology. Research is being carried out in two directions: 1) European portraiture of the 15th-19th centuries and Russian portraiture of the 18th - 19th centuries, 2) Mediterranean ancient sculpture and painting. Descriptions of materials and methodology are detailed in the main articles of the team cited in the bibliography. The image series were studied from a population approach to the analysis of variability. About one and a half thousand Western European and Russian portraits were studied, anthropological characteristics and estimates of homogeneity of the population were obtained by descriptive method and the composite portrait method. An anthropological description of the ancient population of the Mediterranean was obtained from samples: Fayum pictorial portraits, Roman sculptural portraits, Etruscan pictorial and sculptural portraits, Greek sculptural and pictorial portraits. Conclusion. The iconography of the physical features of the populations in various monuments of material culture and art allows us to obtain anthropological information about the variability of ancient and modern populations. The research potential of visual art resources for anthropology is evident and varied, but has not yet been sufficiently studied in terms of estimating and verifying of anthropological information that can become research applications for future researchers. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

A. I. Kozlov

Introduction. According to the concept of adaptive types proposed about 50 years ago [Alekseeva, 1972, 1977], representatives of different groups and races in similar living conditions independently (convergently) develop close adaptive norms of morpho-physiological complexes that ensure stability in given ecological environment. Today, this concept is widely used in anthropology and human ecology although its important applied and predictive aspects are often underestimated. This review examines the history of the formation and development of the concept of adaptive types in the context of other views on human ecology, its connection with modern scientific views, and the prospects for implementation in fundamental and applied research. Results. Over the past 50 years, the concept of adaptive types has been enriched and strengthened through interactions with related scientific fields. The use of ethnographic data on the way of life, physical loads, food availability and composition in groups with different variants of traditional natural resource use demonstrated the importance of an integrated assessment of the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors. The application of ideas and methods from population and molecular genetics, bioinformatics, and statistical analysis allowed the supplementation of phenotypic morpho-functional indices with data on the specificity of the distribution of genetic determinants of metabolism in groups adapted to different environmental conditions. This allows us to consider the formation of adaptive types as a microevolutionary process in which the habitat and the population adapting to it at the biological and cultural-technological level mutually influence each other. This approach, based on the position of the modern theory of niche construction, in particular, allows us to identify an adaptive type of urbanized environment characterized by ranges of adaptive norm of morpho-physiological, auxological, biochemical, and endocrine complexes specific to megapolis populations. Comparison of data obtained from studies of groups with different levels of modernization showed that the damaging effect of the anthropogenic environment decreases as the population enters the range of a new adaptive norm that meets the requirements of an emerging urban niche. Conclusion. The concept of adaptive types, in its modern interpretation, is productive when considering a number of fundamental and applied issues in the field of human ecology, theoretical, and evolutionary medicine, including the problem of the spread of metabolic disorders. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

E. Godina

Introduction. The history of the development of human auxology at Lomonosov Moscow State University as one of the areas of biological anthropology is discussed. Results and discussion. The main achievements of the university auxological school in the 21st century are analyzed against the background of similar research carried out by foreign scientists. The main attention is paid to the influence of climatic, socio-economic, psycho-emotional factors on the processes of growth and development. A special place in the works of the MSU auxologists is occupied by the problems of secular changes in morphofunctional characteristics. Russian scientists have obtained new original results regarding the direction and rates of these changes at different stages of the human life cycle. In particular, unlike previous decades, the transformation of the vector of these changes towards macrosomic physique in children, adolescents and young adults, an increase in fat mass, a decrease in skeletal mass and physical strength of the body was demonstrated. These results generally corresponds to global trends observed in other countries. The data on secular changes in body composition components, the effect of different diseases on physical characteristics, the development of reference graphs, tables and other means of assessing and diagnosing individual and group growth patterns are analyzed. Another important aspect of the MSU auxological studies deals with the impact of physical activity on the somatic status of children and adolescents, as well as some vectors of the secular trend in athletes. Conclusion. Russian auxologists have obtained new original results regarding the direction and rates of secular changes at different stages of the human life cycle. Auxological investigations at Lomonosov Moscow State University include also applied research aspects of significant practical importance, in particular for a number of branches of medicine and sports science. Possible prospects for future auxological research are presented, including continuation of secular trend studies, the impact of psychoemotional factors on growth and development, expanding research in the field of sports anthropology, improving methodological support, and working with archival materials. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

Сипатрова А.Г. , Година Е.З., Пермякова Е.Ю. et al.

Введение. Биоимпедансный анализ представляет собой косвенный метод оценки состава тела. Оборудование для биоимпедансных измерений выпускается во многих странах мира, включая Россию, и может отличаться наборами частот переменного тока, схемами измерений и встроенными алгоритмами оценки состава тела. Ввиду этого оценки состава тела, получаемые с использованием различных биоимпедансных анализаторов, могут быть несравнимы, что ограничивает возможность обобщения результатов биоимпедансных исследований. Цель исследования – анализ сопоставимости и возможности совместного использования данных биоимпедансных измерений, получаемых с использованием анализаторов состава тела АВС-01 «Медасс» (ООО НТЦ Медасс, г. Москва) и Диамант-АИСТ (ООО Диамант, г. Санкт-Петербург) у взрослых людей. Материалы и методы. Были обследованы 185 взрослых добровольцев (107 женщин и 78 мужчин) в возрасте от 18 лет до 61 года по стандартной антропометрической методике и на основе парных измерений биоимпедансными анализаторами состава тела АВС-01 «Медасс» и Диамант-АИСТ. Сопоставляли оценки тощей (ТМ), жировой массы (ЖМ) и процентного содержания жира в массе тела (%ЖМ). Взаимную калибровку данных проводили на основе регрессионной формулы, описывающей взаимосвязь парных значений импедансов, и последующего применения к преобразованным данным Диамант-АИСТ алгоритма оценки состава тела, реализованного в программном обеспечении анализатора АВС-01 «Медасс». Результаты. Наблюдались значимые различия медианных значений оценок ТМ, ЖМ и %ЖМ анализаторами АВС-01 «Медасс» и Диамант-АИСТ. Оценки ТМ у женщин с использованием анализатора АВС-01 «Медасс» были значимо ниже, а ЖМ и %ЖМ – значимо выше в сравнении с данными Диамант-АИСТ. В подгруппе мужчин наблюдались обратные соотношения при сохранении значимых различий между признаками. Различия парных оценок состава тела для анализатора АВС-01 «Медасс» и преобразованных данных Диамант-АИСТ в подгруппах женщин и мужчин, соответственно, были статистически незначимы. При этом доверительные интервалы для разностей индивидуальных парных оценок состава тела значительно сократились, но остались достаточно велики. Выводы. Выявлены значимые различия парных оценок тощей, жировой и относительной жировой массы, получаемых с использованием анализаторов АВС-01 «Медасс» и Диамант-АИСТ у взрослых людей. Установлена возможность взаимной калибровки и совместного анализа данных на групповом уровне.

Sergey G. Rudnev, Elena Z. Godina

Abstract Despite the presence of body composition studies in Russia, there are no current reviews on this topic, and the results are relatively rarely published abroad. Our aim was to describe the history and current state of this research work, to list unresolved problems, and to outline possible developmental trends. For completeness, in the initial part of the review, traditional research areas indirectly related to body composition studies are considered, namely, the analysis of biological variation of anthropometric parameters and somatotyping. It can be seen that anthropometry and bioimpedance analysis (BIA) are mainly used to assess body composition in Russia. Other methods, such as double-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), are utilized less often. The achievements include the common use of comprehensive anthropometry in anthropological studies, some advancements in clinical studies, approbation of potentially important methods such as the deuterium dilution method and three-dimensional laser-based photonic scanning, and ongoing mass population BIA measurements in health centers. Various bioimpedance instruments are manufactured, the local reference BIA body composition data are available, and a large updated BIA database is ready for international comparisons. Among major limitations of body composition research in Russia, one can note the lack of validation studies using reference methods, so that foreign regression formulas are used with the double indirect methods, such as anthropometry and BIA, despite the fact that their accuracy has not yet been checked in our population. Conventional reference body composition assessment methods, such as three- or four-component molecular-level models and whole-body in vivo neutron activation analysis, were not applied yet, despite the technical feasibility. In general, it can be argued that the body composition research in Russia follows the observed global trends. Along with the achievements, there are a number of unresolved methodological and organizational issues. Prospects for further research include validation studies, updating reference population body composition data, and establishing local cut-offs for malnutrition and disease risks. In our view, further development could be facilitated with the establishment of well-equipped Human Body Composition Units in major Russian research centers, such as Moscow State University, which could be assigned a coordinating and methodical role.

Ariana Paulina-Carabajal, Julia Brenda Desojo

La historia de las mujeres argentinas en el desarrollo de la paleoherpetología es muy interesante y crucial, ya que la misma evidencia el rol de la mujer en el campo académico, en el ámbito familiar y en la sociedad. A lo largo de casi 100 años, las investigaciones llevadas a cabo por mujeres fueron en aumento, abarcando los principales grupos taxonómicos y generando nuevas líneas de investigación con cada generación. En la actualidad, el cambio de paradigma de la mujer en el campo de la paleontología de vertebrados en general, no solo se plasma en su rol dirigiendo campañas paleontológicas y equipos de investigación, sino que también se refleja en sus actividades de gestión y su proyección en el ámbito internacional.

Daijiro Abe, Kiyotaka Motoyama, Takehiro Tashiro et al.

Abstract Background The time courses of the joint elevation angles of the thigh, shank, and foot in one stride during walking can be well approximated by a “plane” in a triaxial space. This intersegmental coordination (IC) of the lower limb elevation angles is referred to as the planar covariation law. We examined the effects of exercise habituation and aging on the thickness of the IC plane of the lower limbs under sinusoidal speed changing conditions. Methods Seventeen sedentary young (SY), 16 active young (AY), and 16 active elderly (AE) adults walked on a treadmill in accordance with a sinusoidal speed changing protocol at 120, 60, and 30 s periods with an amplitude of ± 0.56 m·s−1. Motion of the lower limbs from the sagittal direction was recorded to calculate the elevation angles of the lower limbs. When the best-fit IC plane was determined, the smallest standard deviation of the IC plane was considered as the anteroposterior gait variability of the lower limbs. The coefficient of variance of the step width was also quantified to evaluate the lateral step variability (CVSW). Results The standard deviation of the IC plane was significantly greater in the order of SY, AY, and AE, regardless of the sinusoidal wave periods of the changing speed. The CVSW was not significantly different among the three groups. Conclusions Exercise habituation influences anteroposterior gait variability of the lower limbs, but not lateral step variability, even in young adults. Given these, gait adaptability for sinusoidal speed changes does not always decline with aging. Trial registration UMIN000031456 ( R000035911 ; registered February 23, 2018).