4 ms·
According to WHO estimates [1], a quarter of Africans have goiters so I think it's safe to say that archaic humans suffered from chronic iodine deficiency. Evo
by civilitty 3y ago
According to WHO estimates [1], a quarter of Africans have goiters so I think it's safe to say that archaic humans suffered from chronic iodine deficiency.
Evolution works through reproduction so any condition that doesn't impact survival until sexual maturity is unlikely to face any evolutionary pressure. Since humans are tribal and took care of their offspring in group settings, survivability after procreation also has little effect.
[1] https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/43010/9241592001.pdf https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/43010/9241592001...
- wizofaus 3y ago> any condition that doesn't impact survival until sexual maturity Diseases that impact even just appearance can surely make you less attractive as a mate though. And larger goiters can impede breathing or swallowing. So I'd be suspicious of the idea that we've been significantly deficient in iodine for extended periods of our evolutionary history.
- civilitty 3y agoLarge goiters are rare and the vast majority are not outwardly visible nor do they impact breathing. I’d be far more suspicious of applying modern standards of beauty to humans that lived hundreds of thousands of years ago.