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REPRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENT

Childhood conditions set the balance

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 2, pages 1061–1062 (2018)Cite this article

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A comparison of men who migrated from Bangladesh to the United Kingdom at different ages, alongside men who were lifelong residents of both countries, reveals that early environments determine levels of reproductive hormones and secondary sexual characteristics.

Testosterone is the hormone responsible for the development of male secondary sexual characteristics, such as muscle mass and body hair. Lower testosterone levels are observed among men in countries or populations with lower income or higher disease rates1. These differences are thought to relate to ecological conditions, because the effects of testosterone are often energetically costly: investing in traits like muscle mass or the pursuit of mates takes energy and resources away from other demands such as immune responses against infections. Under conditions of high infectious burden or limited dietary intake it makes sense to reduce testosterone. Conversely, under conditions of low disease and high energy availability, such as are typically found in much of the United States and Western Europe, testosterone levels may be higher than they ever have been at any other point in human history2.

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Fig. 1: Testosterone levels.

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Aaron D. Blackwell

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  1. Aaron D. Blackwell
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Correspondence to Aaron D. Blackwell.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Blackwell, A.D. Childhood conditions set the balance. Nat Ecol Evol 2, 1061–1062 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0594-3

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