Human adaptability, as a field of inquiry within human biology, became defi
ned during the research activities of the International Biological Program
(IBP) (1964-1974). During this period, research was focused on ecological,
physiological, and genetic studies of human populations within the theoreti
cal frameworks of adaptation and evolution. Other defining characteristics
of the IBP human adaptability research were standardization of methods, mul
tidisciplinary projects, international cooperation, and a concern with huma
n health issues. Some observers suggest that this research contributed to t
he ongoing transformation of physical anthropology and related fields from
a largely descriptive to an analytical science. During the 25 years between
the end of the IBP and the present, a number of research trends have conti
nued: Several new multidisciplinary projects were initiated and completed;
a subfield of demography within human biology has matured; nutrition, infan
t and child growth, and health studies have proliferated; and molecular gen
erics and DNA analysis have superseded the earlier population genetics. Int
ernational programs today are geared toward more practical and applied stud
ies with less emphasis on basic science. Continuation of human adapt abilit
y research into the 21st century is likely to make contributions in 3 broad
areas: population, environment, and health. Productive research is likely
to contribute to these 3 areas in the following categories: reproduction, p
sychosocial stress, life span approaches to health, effects of losses in bi
odiversity on health, a human biology of poverty, emerging infectious disea
ses, epidemiology of modernization, evolutionary medicine, and aging. The s
uccess of much of this research in its contribution to knowledge will come
from the integrated perspectives of a biobehavioral framework of inquiry.