Is obesity an advantageous adaptation?
It is undisputed that modern man is becoming fatter and the extreme expression of increased adiposity 'simple' obesity is becoming more common. Tanner & Whitehouse for example reported that average skinfold thickness in British school children increased by one standard deviation over a 25-year period. What are unclear are the main reasons for this change. In this 'Viewpoint' I will examine--I hope not too contentiously--evidence that this increased level of human adiposity associated with 'Westernisation' reflects an evolutionary adaptation to 'modern' food, particularly the refined carbohydrates, and is not simply a metabolic or behavioural ' disorder' as is commonly assumed. Some 'treatments', including some perhaps based on behavioural assumptions, have been described by Hirsch as equivalent to 'beating the insane to keep them quiet.
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001290:Attitude; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D001835:Body Weight; D003469:Culture; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology