@mcg1102 DevBio, do you think that humans are still evolving and that research or data should be renewed at least every 5-10 years to account for new dietary habits and environmental impact? (Uh maybe this is for wondering Wednesday/weekend...)
@libgamr I think it's a great idea to keep doing these kinds of studies (although as someone who does this for a living, I can tell you it's a lot harder to get money and other resources to do something that's not new and shiny and first-of-its-kind).
I'm not sure I believe that these results are different from the received consensus because something has changed about the average cycle over time (although it's certainly possible). I think they're different from the received consensus because of the power of huge sets of data, and also because of the influence of technology in making study populations more diverse -- NC's study population is almost certainly more diverse than a set of 100-200 recruited study participants (although people choosing to use a technology-enhanced FAM approach are potentially different from the general population).
Humans are most definitely still evolving, but natural selection isn't acting on the scale of a few years, or even of our lifetimes.
@lettielove The bigger differences are in the follicular and luteal phases - total cycle length is much less important. 17/12 is pretty darn different than 14/14, and, as Devbio says at the end of the post, this means that anyone who is simply using an app that assumes these numbers for their cycles is going to be way off.
If your app assumes CD14 ovulation and you have sex CD12 and consider yourself covered, but the real average is CD17 and your ovulation actually follows around then, you've actually missed your entire fertile window.
@emanuela Got ya. I see what you mean about O day 17 being much different than the"normal" 14. I guess because I O cd27 it doesn't seem like a big difference haha.
But yes, totally agree with the overall message of not listening to an app. Temping is King!
@lettielove The other impact of this is that it makes it important for doctors to reconsider the standard “test progesterone on cd21!” Recommendation, when it looks more like it should be something like “test five days before next expected period.”
