抄録
The characteristics of physiological anthropology in Japan were considered in a preceding report from the perspective of its academic history and organization. In this report, the key terms of physiological polytypism, functional potentiality and whole body coordination as constructs of the disciplinary framework of physiological anthropology were identified and examined if physiological polytypism is evidenced in the concrete physiological data regarding behavior-dependent environmental stresses in today's modern society. As a result, it was suggested that habitual diet and daily physical activity are associated with basal metabolic rate, which in turn might mold physiological polytypism through the adoption of a coordinated pattern for the body temperature regulation in cold environments. It was also observed that physical training improved orthostatic tolerance by changing functional coordination to enhance the capability for regulating blood pressure. The perspective of environmental adaptation research including phenotypic adjustment and its mechanisms was demonstrated by incorporating the concept of epigenetic programming into the formation of a specified functional phenotype in humans.
