Abstract
THE fact that obesity becomes more common when societies change from a subsistence/labour intensive to an affluent/sedentary way of life might be taken simply as a demonstration that easy living encourages slothfulness and gluttony. Fat people, however, do not in general seem to eat more than thin ones, and there is increasing evidence of an inherited component of obesity. It seems more likely therefore that, throughout much of past history, individuals who had a genetic constitution predisposing them to store energy preferentially as fat have had some kind of advantage for survival. We have used a computer simulation model of energy balance to compare the effects of different seasonal patterns of work output and food availability on individuals with inherent tendencies towards either leanness or fatness, and to illustrate the circumstances and the manner in which the latter type has a relative advantage over the former.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Puller, J. D. & Webster, A. J. F. Br. J. Nutr. 31, 377 (1974).
Kielanowski, J. & Kotarbinska, M. Publs Eur. Ass. Anim. Prod. no. 13, 145 (1970).
Schieman, R., Chudy, A. & Herseg, O. Arch. Tierernahr. 19, 395 (1969).
Keys, A., Brozek, J., Henschel, A., Mickelsen, O. & Taylor, H. L. The Biology of Human Starvation. (Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1950).
Passmore, R., Strong, J. A. & Ritchie, F. J. Br. J. Nutr. 12, 113 (1958).
Dugdale, A. E. & Payne, P. R. Nature 256, 725 (1975).
Fox, R. H. thesis, London Univ. (1953).
Edholm, O. G. et al. Br. J. Nutr. 24, 1091 (1970).
James, W. P. T. & Trayhurn, P. Lancet ii, 770 (1976).
Payne, P. R. & Dugdale, R. E. Ann. Hum. Biol. (in the press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
DUGDALE, A., PAYNE, P. Pattern of lean and fat deposition in adults. Nature 266, 349–351 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/266349a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/266349a0
This article is cited by
-
Association of protein-energy partitioning with body weight and body composition changes in adolescents with severe obesity
International Journal of Obesity (2022)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.