The ratio of the length of the second finger to the fourth finger (2D:4D) is considered to be a putative proxy of prenatal exposure to testosterone, and has been increasingly used as a promising tool to evaluate the impact of prenatal androgenization in humans in such traits as physical performance. In this study, for the first time, we present 2D:4D data on adult participants of Han ethnicity. We consider the sexual dimorphism of 2D:4D and handgrip strength, and also report the relationship between 2D:4D and handgrip strength of males and females. The sample consisted of 54 males and 55 females recruited from a remote village in the Qinling Mountains, China. We found sexual dimorphism of both 2D:4D and handgrip strength, i.e., males had lower 2D:4D and right-left 2D:4D than females and greater handgrip strength than females. There was a sex-specific correlation between 2D:4D and handgrip strength, i.e., 2D:4D in the right hand was negatively correlated with handgrip strength in males but not in females. This relationship may be driven by sexual selection operating on fetal programming.

Human obesity is a growing epidemic throughout the world. Body mass index (BMI) is commonly used as a good indicator of obesity. Body adiposity index (BAI = hip circumference (cm)/stature (m)(1.5) - 18), as a new surrogate measure, has been proposed recently as an alternative to BMI. This study, for the first time, compares BMI and BAI for predicting percent body fat (PBF; estimated from skinfolds) in a sample of 302 Buryat adults (148 men and 154 women) living in China. The BMI and BAI were strongly correlated with PBF in both men and women. The correlation coefficient between BMI and PBF was higher than that between BAI and PBF for both sexes. For the linear regression analysis, BMI better predicted PBF in both men and women; the variation around the regression lines for each sex was greater for BAI comparisons. For the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the area under the ROC curve for BMI was higher than that for BAI for each sex, which suggests that the discriminatory capacity of the BMI is higher than the one of BAI. Taken together, we conclude that BMI is a more reliable indicator of PBF derived from skinfold thickness in adult Buryats.

Using standard and internationally validated methods, 86 anthropologic characteristics were determined in 650 male (305 from urban areas and 345 from rural areas) and 704 female (331 from urban areas, 373 from rural areas) Chinese Hakka adults living in Guangdong and Jiangxi. The data were used to calculate 24 anthropologic indices, which were analyzed statistically. The physical characteristics of Hakka subjects were analyzed and compared with reference ethnic data. There were four main findings of this study. First, a small proportion of Hakka adults had an eye fold on the upper eyelid, but a large proportion had a mongoloid fold. The eye slits were narrow in most adults, had a medium nasal root height and straight bridges, and most of the external angles were prominent. The nasal base was upturned in most men. The distributions of the three types of nasal base in women were similar. The proportions of subjects with middle and high alae nasi heights were high and similar. Males with a maximum nostril diameter were mostly classified as transverse and oblique, while many women were classified as transverse and had relatively wide alae nasi. The round lobe type was the most common. Upper lip skin height was mostly classified as medium. Lips were classified as thin. The hair was black, eyes were brown, and the skin was yellowish. Second, the head length was long in male Hakka. The minimum frontal breadth, face breadth, lip height, and interocular breadth were similar to those of North-Asian populations. Meanwhile, head breadth, morphological facial height, nose breadth, mouth breadth, and nose height were similar to those of South-Asian populations. Head length was long in female Hakka. The minimum frontal breadth, face breadth, lip height, and interocular breadth were similar to those of North-Asian populations. Head breadth, nose breadth, and mouth breadth were similar to those of South-Asian populations. Third, the stature of male and female Hakka in urban and rural areas was classified as medium. The proportions of male and female Hakka classified as mesocephaly (length-breadth index of the head), hypsicephalic type, metriocephalic type (breadth-height index of the head) mesorrhiny, long trunk, subbrachyskelic type, broad shoulder breadth, and narrow distance between iliac crests were higher than those of other types. Finally, principal component analyses showed that the physical characteristics of Hakka were between those of South-Asian and North-Asian ethnic populations, but were generally closer to those of North-Asian populations in China. somatoscopy, ethnicity,

IntroductionThe ratio of the length of the second finger to the fourth finger (2D:4D) in humans is considered as a putative marker of prenatal exposure to testosterone, and has been progressively adopted as one useful tool to evaluate the effect of prenatal hormones in some traits such as physical ability. Handgrip strength is one authentic measure of physical ability and is generally used on the anthropological research within an evolutionary viewpoint.MethodsHere we present the first evidence on 2D:4D and handgrip strength on adult participants of Hani ethnicity and explore the relationship between digit ratio (2D:4D) and handgrip strength. We examined 2D:4D and handgrip strength of 80 males and 60 females at Bubeng village, in the Yunnan province of China.ResultsThe mean 2D:4D in females was higher than that in males for each hand. Females showed significantly higher 2D:4D than males in the right hand rather than in the left hand. Males displayed significantly higher handgrip strength than females for both hands. Handgrip strength decreased with age for both sexes. A significant negative correlation between 2D:4D and handgrip strength was found in the right hand of males.ConclusionThe relationship between 2D:4D and handgrip strength may be attributed to evolutionary drive of sexual selection operating on fetal programming.

The Han Chinese people are the main ethnic group in China and the largest ethnic group in the world. The dimensions of the hands and feet have been successfully used for the estimation of stature. A total of 26,927 healthy adult subjects, comprising 13,221 men and 13,706 women, were recruited. The survey samples were chosen through random cluster sampling. The mean values were significantly higher in men than those in women for all measurements (P<0.001). All the measurements showed a statistically significant correlation with stature (P<0.01). The combination of the right hand length and the right foot length was the best predictor of stature because it had the lowest standard error of estimate. The use of multiple regression equations yielded better results than did the use of linear regression equations. The accuracy of stature prediction ranged from ±4.81 to ±6.39 cm. The present study was of great importance with regards to improving the physical anthropology database of ethnic groups in China.stature, forensic anthropology, anthropometry, foot length, foot width, Han Chinese Citation: