EVOBREATH. Datasets for evolutionary bioenergetics research on anthropology

Area of Science:

• Paleobiology
• Human Evolution
• Bioenergetics

Background:

• Human evolution studies increasingly integrate bioenergetics to address physiological questions beyond taxonomy.
• Understanding hominin ecophysiology requires data on modern human energetics, body composition, and metabolism.
• Existing fossil records alone are insufficient to explain past human physiology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the EVOBREATH Datasets, a comprehensive collection of human bioenergetics data.
• To provide a resource for modeling hominin palaeophysiology and understanding evolutionary constraints.
• To facilitate the reuse of experimental data by the scientific community.

Main Methods:

• Development of the EVOBREATH Datasets since 2013 at the National Research Centre on Human Evolution (CENIEH).
• Experimental data collection in the BioEnergy and Motion Lab (LabBioEM) and in the field.
• Inclusion of quantitative data on anthropometry, body composition, and energetics (resting metabolic rate, energy expenditure, O2 and CO2 production) from 501 individuals.

Main Results:

• The datasets encompass detailed measurements of height, weight, postcranial dimensions, body composition (fat mass, lean mass, muscle mass, body water), and breath-by-breath metabolic data.
• Data were collected from diverse age groups (children, adolescents, adults) and both sexes.
• The collected data are suitable for optimizing experimental data generation and promoting data reuse.

Conclusions:

• The EVOBREATH Datasets offer a valuable resource for researchers in human evolution, bioenergetics, and palaeobiology.
• These datasets enable more robust modeling of past human physiology and metabolic capabilities.
• Facilitating data accessibility and reuse accelerates scientific discovery in human evolutionary studies.