A Heavy Issue: Changes in Body Size in London Before, During and After the Black Death

The higher mortality rate of the Black Death compared to later epidemics has prompted bioarchaeologists to address the health status of past plague victims and whether this may have influenced the selectivity of the disease. A person's phenotype is the result of a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors; body size, and in particular body mass and stature, are strongly influenced by external factors (such as economic conditions, famine, physiological stresses, etc.). In this study, we explored how variations in body mass and BMI may reflect changes in the population of London during the Black Death (1348-1350) and to understand the relationship between epidemic diseases and changes in body size in the past.

For this purpose, stature, body mass, and BMI were reconstructed using osteologic data from the Wellcome Osteological Research Database (WORD) of the Museum of London from individuals who died before, during, and after the Black Death in medieval England.

We observed a significant decrease in weight and stature in the period of the Black Death and a slight increase, compared to pre-Black Death data, after the plague epidemic. Values of BMI, conversely, remained more or less constant.

The results further clarify the effects of social upheavals before the Black Death on the health of the individuals and reveal new insights into their health after the extreme devastation. Moreover, we confirmed that BM, as well as stature, can be used to assess health changes in the past.