Humans aren ’t the only fat primate

Go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and you’re unlikely to encounter chimps so plump they have trouble climbing trees or vervet monkeys so chubby they huff and puff as they swing from branch to branch. Humans are a different story. Walk down a typical U.S. street and almost half of the people you encounter are likely to have obesity. Scientists have long blamed our status as the “fattest primate” on genes that help us store fat more efficiently or diets overloaded with sugars or fat. But a new study of 40 species of nonhuman primates, ranging from tiny mouse lemurs to hulking gorillas, finds many pack on the pounds just as easily as we do, regardless of diet, habitat, or genetic differences. All they need is extra food. “Lots of primates put on too much weight, the same as humans,” says Herman Pontzer, a biological anthropologist at Duke University and author of the new study , published this week in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B . “Humans are not special.” Some researchers have suggested our species is prone to obesity because our ancestors evolved to be incredibly efficient at storing calories. The adaptation would have helped our ancient relatives, who often faced famine after the transition to agriculture, get through lean times. This selection pressure for so-called thrifty genes set us apart from other primates, the thinking goes. But other primates ...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research