Proc Biol Sci
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Published: August 2024
Despite agreement that humans have evolved to be unusually fat primates, adipose patterning among hunter-gatherers has received little empirical consideration. Here we consider the development of adiposity among four contemporary groups of hunter-gatherers, the Aka, Savanna Pumé, Ju'/Hoansi and Agta using multi-level generalized additive mixed modelling to characterize the growth of tricep skinfolds from early childhood through adolescence. In contrast to references, hunter-gatherers show several consistent patterns: (i) children are lean with little fat accumulation; (ii) no adiposity rebound at 5 years is evident; (iii) girls on average have built 90% of their body size, and reach menarche when adiposity is at its maximum velocity; and (iv) a metabolic trade-off is evident in young, but not older children, such that both boys and girls prioritize skeletal growth during middle childhood, a trade-off that diminishes during adolescence when height velocity increases in pace with fat accumulation. Consistent results across hunter-gatherers living in diverse environments suggest that these patterns reflect a general forager pattern of development. The findings provide a valuable baseline for adipose development not apparent from reference populations. We emphasize both generalized trends among hunter-gatherers, and that inter-populational differences point to the plasticity with which humans organize growth and development.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11349443 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.0110 | DOI Listing |
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!
© LitMetric 2025. All rights reserved.