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We have studied hunters and gatherers which survived into recent times and they indeed seem to be very metabolically healthy. "Starvation" is a strong word, but
by inglor_cz 1y ago
We have studied hunters and gatherers which survived into recent times and they indeed seem to be very metabolically healthy. "Starvation" is a strong word, but they certainly don't live in a world of plenty and tend to be lean.
What you are describing is so-called "thrifty gene hypothesis", it makes a lot of sense, but it hasn't been corroborated by actual genomic observations yet.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago> What you are describing is so-called "thrifty gene hypothesis", it makes a lot of sense, but it hasn't been corroborated by actual genomic observations yet The problem with thrifty genotype is hunter-gatherers seem to have had less caloric volatility (if we control for habitat quality) [1]. So to the degree such genes might have emerged, it would have had to have been selected for during migrations. That, in turn, requires it be a relatively human-specific adaptation, which frankly makes me sceptical. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24402714/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24402714/