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Volek JS, Kackley ML, Buga A. Nutritional Considerations During Major Weight Loss Therapy: Focus on Optimal Protein and a Low-Carbohydrate Dietary Pattern. Curr Nutr Rep 2024; 13:422-443. [PMID: 38814519 PMCID: PMC11327213 DOI: 10.1007/s13668-024-00548-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Considering the high prevalence of obesity and related metabolic impairments in the population, the unique role nutrition has in weight loss, reversing metabolic disorders, and maintaining health cannot be overstated. Normal weight and well-being are compatible with varying dietary patterns, but for the last half century there has been a strong emphasis on low-fat, low-saturated fat, high-carbohydrate based approaches. Whereas low-fat dietary patterns can be effective for a subset of individuals, we now have a population where the vast majority of adults have excess adiposity and some degree of metabolic impairment. We are also entering a new era with greater access to bariatric surgery and approval of anti-obesity medications (glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues) that produce substantial weight loss for many people, but there are concerns about disproportionate loss of lean mass and nutritional deficiencies. RECENT FINDINGS No matter the approach used to achieve major weight loss, careful attention to nutritional considerations is necessary. Here, we examine the recent findings regarding the importance of adequate protein to maintain lean mass, the rationale and evidence supporting low-carbohydrate and ketogenic dietary patterns, and the potential benefits of including exercise training in the context of major weight loss. While losing and sustaining weight loss has proven challenging, we are optimistic that application of emerging nutrition science, particularly personalized well-formulated low-carbohydrate dietary patterns that contain adequate protein (1.2 to 2.0 g per kilogram reference weight) and achieve the beneficial metabolic state of euketonemia (circulating ketones 0.5 to 5 mM), is a promising path for many individuals with excess adiposity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeff S Volek
- Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, 305 Annie & John Glenn Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
| | - Madison L Kackley
- Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, 305 Annie & John Glenn Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Alex Buga
- Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, 305 Annie & John Glenn Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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Zorrilla-Revilla G, Volpe SL, Prado-Nóvoa O, Howard KR, Laskaridou E, Marinik EL, Ramadoss R, Davy KP, García-González R. Far from the walking pace. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of the suboptimal locomotion speeds in non-adult humans. Am J Hum Biol 2024:e24138. [PMID: 39016420 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2024] [Revised: 07/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Locomotion activities are part of most human daily tasks and are the basis for subsistence activities, particularly for hunter-gatherers. Therefore, differences in speed walking-related variables may have an effect, not only on the mobility of the group, but also on its composition. Some anthropometric parameters related to body length could affect walking speed-related variables and contribute to different human behaviors. However, there is currently little information on the influence of these parameters in nonadult individuals. METHODS Overall, 11 females and 17 male child/adolescents, 8-17 years of age, volunteered to participate in this cross-sectional study. Five different pace walking tests were performed on a treadmill to calculate the optimal locomotion speed (OLS) and U-shaped relationship between the walking energy expenditure and speed (χ2 cost of transport [CoT]) (i.e., energetic walking flexibility). RESULTS The mean OLS was 3.05 ± 0.13 miles per hour (mph), with no differences between sexes. Similarly, there were no sex differences in walking flexibility according to the χ2 CoT. Body height (p < .0001) and femur length (p < .001) were positively correlated with χ2 CoT; however, female child/adolescents mitigated the effect of height and femur length when walking at suboptimal speeds. CONCLUSION Consistent with prior observations in adults, our findings suggest that anthropometric parameters related to body stature are associated with reduced suboptimal walking flexibility in children and adolescents. Taken together, these results suggest that children and adolescents can adapt their pace to the one of taller individuals without a highly energetic penalty, but this flexibility decreases with increasing body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Zorrilla-Revilla
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Burgos, Spain
- Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
- CIAS-Research Centre for Anthropology and Health, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Stella L Volpe
- Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Olalla Prado-Nóvoa
- Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Kristen R Howard
- Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Eleni Laskaridou
- Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Elaina L Marinik
- Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Rohit Ramadoss
- Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | - Kevin P Davy
- Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
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Sarma MS, Shelhamer M. The human biology of spaceflight. Am J Hum Biol 2024; 36:e24048. [PMID: 38337152 PMCID: PMC10940193 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
To expand the human exploration footprint and reach Mars in the 2030s, we must explore how humans survive and thrive in demanding, unusual, and novel ecologies (i.e., extreme environments). In the extreme conditions encountered during human spaceflight, there is a need to understand human functioning and response in a more rigorous theoretically informed way. Current models of human performance in space-relevant environments and human space science are often operationally focused, with emphasis on acute physiological or behavioral outcomes. However, integrating current perspectives in human biology allows for a more holistic and complete understanding of how humans function over a range of time in an extreme environment. Here, we show how the use of evolution-informed frameworks (i.e., models of life history theory to organize the adaptive pressures of spaceflight and biocultural perspectives) coupled with the use of mixed-methodological toolkits can shape models that better encompass the scope of biobehavioral human adjustment to long-duration space travel and extra-terrestrial habitation. Further, we discuss how we can marry human biology perspectives with the rigorous programmatic structures developed for spaceflight to model other unknown and nascent extremes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mallika S. Sarma
- Human Spaceflight Lab, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21215
| | - Mark Shelhamer
- Human Spaceflight Lab, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21215
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McGrosky A, Swanson ZS, Rimbach R, Bethancourt H, Ndiema E, Nzunza R, Braun DR, Rosinger AY, Pontzer H. Total daily energy expenditure and elevated water turnover in a small-scale semi-nomadic pastoralist society from Northern Kenya. Ann Hum Biol 2024; 51:2310724. [PMID: 38594936 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2024.2310724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pastoralists live in challenging environments, which may be accompanied by unique activity, energy, and water requirements. AIM Few studies have examined whether the demands of pastoralism contribute to differences in total energy expenditure (TEE) and water turnover (WT) compared to other lifestyles. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Accelerometer-derived physical activity, doubly labelled water-derived TEE and WT, and anthropometric data were collected for 34 semi-nomadic Daasanach adults from three northern Kenyan communities with different levels of pastoralist activity. Daasanach TEEs and WTs were compared to those of other small-scale and industrialised populations. RESULTS When modelled as a function of fat-free-mass, fat-mass, age, and sex, TEE did not differ between Daasanach communities. Daasanach TEE (1564-4172 kcal/day) was not significantly correlated with activity and 91% of TEEs were within the range expected for individuals from comparison populations. Mean WT did not differ between Daasanach communities; Daasanach absolute (7.54 litres/day men; 7.46 litres/day women), mass-adjusted, and TEE-adjusted WT was higher than most populations worldwide. CONCLUSIONS The similar mass-adjusted TEE of Daasanach and industrialised populations supports the hypothesis that habitual TEE is constrained, with physically demanding lifestyles necessitating trade-offs in energy allocation. Elevated WT in the absence of elevated TEE likely reflects a demanding active lifestyle in a hot, arid climate.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zane S Swanson
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Global Food and Water Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, WA, USA
| | - Rebecca Rimbach
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | | | - Emmanuel Ndiema
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - David R Braun
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Anthropology Department, George Washington University, Washington, WA, USA
- Technological Primate Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Asher Y Rosinger
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, PA State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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Notley SR, Mitchell D, Taylor NAS. A century of exercise physiology: concepts that ignited the study of human thermoregulation. Part 4: evolution, thermal adaptation and unsupported theories of thermoregulation. Eur J Appl Physiol 2024; 124:147-218. [PMID: 37796290 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-023-05262-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
This review is the final contribution to a four-part, historical series on human exercise physiology in thermally stressful conditions. The series opened with reminders of the principles governing heat exchange and an overview of our contemporary understanding of thermoregulation (Part 1). We then reviewed the development of physiological measurements (Part 2) used to reveal the autonomic processes at work during heat and cold stresses. Next, we re-examined thermal-stress tolerance and intolerance, and critiqued the indices of thermal stress and strain (Part 3). Herein, we describe the evolutionary steps that endowed humans with a unique potential to tolerate endurance activity in the heat, and we examine how those attributes can be enhanced during thermal adaptation. The first of our ancestors to qualify as an athlete was Homo erectus, who were hairless, sweating specialists with eccrine sweat glands covering almost their entire body surface. Homo sapiens were skilful behavioural thermoregulators, which preserved their resource-wasteful, autonomic thermoeffectors (shivering and sweating) for more stressful encounters. Following emigration, they regularly experienced heat and cold stress, to which they acclimatised and developed less powerful (habituated) effector responses when those stresses were re-encountered. We critique hypotheses that linked thermoregulatory differences to ancestry. By exploring short-term heat and cold acclimation, we reveal sweat hypersecretion and powerful shivering to be protective, transitional stages en route to more complete thermal adaptation (habituation). To conclude this historical series, we examine some of the concepts and hypotheses of thermoregulation during exercise that did not withstand the tests of time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean R Notley
- Defence Science and Technology Group, Department of Defence, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Duncan Mitchell
- Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Nigel A S Taylor
- Research Institute of Human Ecology, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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Stoner L, Higgins S, Paterson C. The 24-h activity cycle and cardiovascular outcomes: establishing biological plausibility using arterial stiffness as an intermediate outcome. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2023; 325:H1243-H1263. [PMID: 37737729 DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00258.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
This review proposes a biologically plausible working model for the relationship between the 24-h activity cycle (24-HAC) and cardiovascular disease. The 24-HAC encompasses moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light physical activity, sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep. MVPA confers the greatest relative cardioprotective effect, when considering MVPA represents just 2% of the day if physical activity guidelines (30 min/day) are met. While we have well-established guidelines for MVPA, those for the remaining activity behaviors are vague. The vague guidelines are attributable to our limited mechanistic understanding of the independent and additive effects of these behaviors on the cardiovascular system. Our proposed biological model places arterial stiffness, a measure of vascular aging, as the key intermediate outcome. Starting with prolonged exposure to SB or static standing, we propose that the reported transient increases in arterial stiffness are driven by a cascade of negative hemodynamic effects following venous pooling. The subsequent autonomic, metabolic, and hormonal changes further impair vascular function. Vascular dysfunction can be offset by using mechanistic-informed interruption strategies and by engaging in protective behaviors throughout the day. Physical activity, especially MVPA, can confer protection by chronically improving endothelial function and associated protective mechanisms. Conversely, poor sleep, especially in duration and quality, negatively affects hormonal, metabolic, autonomic, and hemodynamic variables that can confound the physiological responses to next-day activity behaviors. Our hope is that the proposed biologically plausible working model will assist in furthering our understanding of the effects of these complex, interrelated activity behaviors on the cardiovascular system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee Stoner
- Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
- Department of Epidemiology, The Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
- Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
| | - Simon Higgins
- Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
| | - Craig Paterson
- Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
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Notley SR, Mitchell D, Taylor NAS. A century of exercise physiology: concepts that ignited the study of human thermoregulation. Part 1: Foundational principles and theories of regulation. Eur J Appl Physiol 2023; 123:2379-2459. [PMID: 37702789 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-023-05272-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
This contribution is the first of a four-part, historical series encompassing foundational principles, mechanistic hypotheses and supported facts concerning human thermoregulation during athletic and occupational pursuits, as understood 100 years ago and now. Herein, the emphasis is upon the physical and physiological principles underlying thermoregulation, the goal of which is thermal homeostasis (homeothermy). As one of many homeostatic processes affected by exercise, thermoregulation shares, and competes for, physiological resources. The impact of that sharing is revealed through the physiological measurements that we take (Part 2), in the physiological responses to the thermal stresses to which we are exposed (Part 3) and in the adaptations that increase our tolerance to those stresses (Part 4). Exercising muscles impose our most-powerful heat stress, and the physiological avenues for redistributing heat, and for balancing heat exchange with the environment, must adhere to the laws of physics. The first principles of internal and external heat exchange were established before 1900, yet their full significance is not always recognised. Those physiological processes are governed by a thermoregulatory centre, which employs feedback and feedforward control, and which functions as far more than a thermostat with a set-point, as once was thought. The hypothalamus, today established firmly as the neural seat of thermoregulation, does not regulate deep-body temperature alone, but an integrated temperature to which thermoreceptors from all over the body contribute, including the skin and probably the muscles. No work factor needs to be invoked to explain how body temperature is stabilised during exercise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean R Notley
- Defence Science and Technology Group, Department of Defence, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Duncan Mitchell
- Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Nigel A S Taylor
- Research Institute of Human Ecology, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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Trumble BC, Pontzer H, Stieglitz J, Cummings DK, Wood B, Emery Thompson M, Raichlen D, Beheim B, Yetish G, Kaplan H, Gurven M. Energetic costs of testosterone in two subsistence populations. Am J Hum Biol 2023; 35:e23949. [PMID: 37365845 PMCID: PMC10749987 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Testosterone plays a role in mediating energetic trade-offs between growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Investments in a high testosterone phenotype trade-off against other functions, particularly survival-enhancing immune function and cellular repair; thus only individuals in good condition can maintain both a high testosterone phenotype and somatic maintenance. While these effects are observed in experimental manipulations, they are difficult to demonstrate in free-living animals, particularly in humans. We hypothesize that individuals with higher testosterone will have higher energetic expenditures than those with lower testosterone. METHODS Total energetic expenditure (TEE) was quantified using doubly labeled water in n = 40 Tsimane forager-horticulturalists (50% male, 18-87 years) and n = 11 Hadza hunter-gatherers (100% male, 18-65 years), two populations living subsistence lifestyles, high levels of physical activity, and high infectious burden. Urinary testosterone, TEE, body composition, and physical activity were measured to assess potential physical and behavioral costs associated with a high testosterone phenotype. RESULTS Endogenous male testosterone was significantly associated with energetic expenditure, controlling for fat free mass; a one standard deviation increase in testosterone is associated with the expenditure of an additional 96-240 calories per day. DISCUSSION These results suggest that a high testosterone phenotype, while beneficial for male reproduction, is also energetically expensive and likely only possible to maintain in healthy males in robust condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | | | - Daniel K Cummings
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA
| | - Brian Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | - David Raichlen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Bret Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gandhi Yetish
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hillard Kaplan
- Department of Health Economics and Anthropology, Economic Science Institute, Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA
| | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
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Sayre MK, Anyawire M, Paolo B, Mabulla AZP, Pontzer H, Wood BM, Raichlen DA. Lifestyle and patterns of physical activity in Hadza foragers. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 182:340-356. [PMID: 37728135 PMCID: PMC10720916 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Physically active lifestyles are associated with several health benefits. Physical activity (PA) levels are low in post-industrial populations, but generally high throughout life in subsistence populations. The Hadza are a subsistence-oriented foraging population in Tanzania known for being physically active, but it is unknown how recent increases in market integration may have altered their PA patterns. In this study, we examine PA patterns for Hadza women and men who engage in different amounts of traditional foraging. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and seventy seven Hadza participants (51% female, 19-87 years) wore an Axivity accelerometer (dominant wrist) for ~6 days during dry season months. We evaluated the effects of age, sex, and lifestyle measures on four PA measures that capture different aspects of the PA profile. RESULTS Participants engaged in high levels of both moderate-intensity PA and inactivity. Although PA levels were negatively associated with age, older participants were still highly active. We found no differences in PA between participants living in more traditional "bush" camps and those living in more settled "village" camps. Mobility was positively associated with step counts for female participants, and schooling was positively associated with inactive time for male participants. CONCLUSIONS The similarity in PA patterns between Hadza participants in different camp types suggests that high PA levels characterize subsistence lifestyles generally. The sex-based difference in the effects of mobility and schooling on PA could be a reflection of the Hadza's gender-based division of labor, or indicate that changes to subsistence-oriented lifestyles impact women and men in different ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Katherine Sayre
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | | | - Audax Z P Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Brian M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - David A Raichlen
- Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Areta JL. Physical performance during energy deficiency in humans: An evolutionary perspective. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2023; 284:111473. [PMID: 37406958 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.111473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
Energy deficiency profoundly disrupts normal endocrinology, metabolism, and physiology, resulting in an orchestrated response for energy preservation. As such, despite energy deficit is typically thought as positive for weight-loss and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases during the current obesity pandemic, in the context of contemporary sports and exercise nutrition, chronic energy deficiency is associated to negative health and athletic performance consequences. However, the evidence of energy deficit negatively affecting physical capacity and sports performance is unclear. While severe energy deficiency can negatively affect physical capacity, humans can also improve aerobic fitness and strength while facing significant energy deficit. Many athletes, also, compete at an elite and world-class level despite showing clear signs of energy deficiency. Maintenance of high physical capacity despite the suppression of energetically demanding physiological traits seems paradoxical when an evolutionary viewpoint is not considered. Humans have evolved facing intermittent periods of food scarcity in their natural habitat and are able to thrive in it. In the current perspective it is argued that when facing limited energy availability, maintenance of locomotion and physical capacity are of high priority given that they are essential for food procurement for survival in the habitat where humans evolved. When energetic resources are limited, energy may be allocated to tasks essential for survival (e.g. locomotion) while minimising energy allocation to traits that are not (e.g. growth and reproduction). The current perspective provides a model of energy allocation during energy scarcity supported by observation of physiological and metabolic responses that are congruent with this paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- José L Areta
- Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
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Sadhir S, Pontzer H. Impact of energy availability and physical activity on variation in fertility across human populations. J Physiol Anthropol 2023; 42:1. [PMID: 36829218 PMCID: PMC9951524 DOI: 10.1186/s40101-023-00318-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Human reproduction is energetically costly, even more so than other primates. In this review, we consider how the energy cost of physical activity impacts reproductive tasks. Daily energy expenditure appears to be constrained, leading to trade-offs between activity and reproduction expenditures in physically active populations. High workloads can lead to suppression of basal metabolic rate and low gestational weight gain during pregnancy and longer interbirth intervals. These responses lead to variation in fertility, including age at first reproduction and interbirth interval. The influence of energetics is evident even in industrialized populations, where cultural and economic factors predominate. With the decoupling of skills acquisition from food procurement, extrasomatic resources and investment in individual offspring becomes very costly. The result is greater investment in fewer offspring. We present a summary of age at first reproduction and interbirth interval trends across a diverse, global sample representing 44 countries and two natural fertility populations. While economic factors impact fertility, women in energy-rich, industrialized populations are capable of greater reproductive output than women in energy-stressed populations. Thus, energetic factors can be disentangled from cultural and economic impacts on fertility. Future research should focus on objective measurements of energy intake, energy expenditure, and physical activity in a broader sample of populations to elucidate the role of energetics in shaping reproductive outcomes and health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srishti Sadhir
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
| | - Herman Pontzer
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC USA ,grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
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Chen Y, Ge E, Zhou L, Du J, Mace R. Sex inequality driven by dispersal. Curr Biol 2023; 33:464-473.e4. [PMID: 36626905 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Inequality between the sexes is pervasive both outside and inside the home. One contributing factor could be the dispersal of one sex at marriage that sets up sex-specific differences in relatedness to the group. Here we exploit the ecological diversity and different social structures found in southwest China to investigate the role of sex-biased dispersal on inequality in the sexual division of labor. We use a wearable fitness tracker and validated readings by confirming that participants' daily "steps" were positively correlated with time spent in high-energy activities, such as agriculture and animal husbandry work, and negatively correlated with low-energy activities, such as leisure and relaxation. We applied multilevel comparative approaches to examine the relative workload pattern between the sexes under different dispersal states. Our results reveal two characteristics that lead to an unfavorable division of workload: being female and dispersing at marriage. This is consistent with the hypothesis that males have increased bargaining power when remaining in their natal home, leading to inequality in workload.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, PRC; Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK.
| | - Erhao Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, PRC; Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Liqiong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, PRC
| | - Juan Du
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, PRC.
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK; Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Université de Toulouse 1 Capitole, 31080 Toulouse Cedex 06, France.
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13
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Sellers AJ, Khovalyg D, Plasqui G, van Marken Lichtenbelt W. High daily energy expenditure of Tuvan nomadic pastoralists living in an extreme cold environment. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20127. [PMID: 36418413 PMCID: PMC9684425 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23975-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Research investigating thermoregulatory energy costs in free-living humans is limited. We determined the total energy expenditure (TEE) of Tuvan pastoralists living in an extreme cold environment and explored the contribution of physical activity and cold-induced thermogenesis. Twelve semi-nomadic pastoralists (47 ± 8 years, 64 ± 8 kg) living under traditional circumstances, in Tuva, south-central Siberia, Russia, were observed during two consecutive 6-day periods in winter. TEE was measured via the doubly labelled water technique. Skin and ambient temperatures, and physical activity were continuously monitored. The outdoor temperature during the observation period was - 27.4 ± 5.4 °C. During the daytime, the participants were exposed to ambient temperatures below 0 °C for 297 ± 131 min/day. The Tuvan pastoralists were more physically active compared to western populations (609 ± 90 min/day of light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity). In addition, TEE was 13.49 ± 1.33 MJ/day (3224 ± 318 kcal/day), which was significantly larger by 17% and 31% than predicted by body mass, and fat-free mass, respectively. Our research suggests the daily cold exposure combined with high levels of physical activity contributed to the elevated TEE. Future research should reconsider the assumption that energy costs due to thermoregulation are negligible in free-living humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J. Sellers
- grid.5012.60000 0001 0481 6099Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Dolaana Khovalyg
- grid.5333.60000000121839049Laboratory of Integrated Comfort Engineering (ICE), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Guy Plasqui
- grid.5012.60000 0001 0481 6099Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt
- grid.5012.60000 0001 0481 6099Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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14
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Urlacher SS, Kim EY, Luan T, Young LJ, Adjetey B. Minimally invasive biomarkers in human and non-human primate evolutionary biology: Tools for understanding variation and adaptation. Am J Hum Biol 2022; 34:e23811. [PMID: 36205445 PMCID: PMC9787651 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/10/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The use of minimally invasive biomarkers (MIBs - physiological biomarkers obtained from minimally invasive sample types) has expanded rapidly in science and medicine over the past several decades. The MIB approach is a methodological strength in the field of human and non-human primate evolutionary biology (HEB). Among humans and our closest relatives, MIBs provide unique opportunities to document phenotypic variation and to operationalize evolutionary hypotheses. AIMS This paper overviews the use of MIBs in HEB. Our objectives are to (1) highlight key research topics which successfully implement MIBs, (2) identify promising yet under-investigated areas of MIB application, and (3) discuss current challenges in MIB research, with suggestions for advancing the field. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS A range of MIBs are used to investigate focal topics in HEB, including energetics and life history variation/evolution, developmental plasticity, and social status and dominance relationships. Nonetheless, we identify gaps in existing MIB research on traits such as physical growth and gut function that are central to the field. Several challenges remain for HEB research using MIBs, including the need for additional biomarkers and methods of assessment, robust validations, and approaches that are standardized across labs and research groups. Importantly, researchers must provide better support for adaptation and fitness effects in hypothesis testing (e.g., by obtaining complementary measures of energy expenditure, demonstrating redundancy of function, and performing lifetime/longitudinal analyses). We point to continued progress in the use of MIBs in HEB to better understand the past, present, and future of humans and our closest primate relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel S. Urlacher
- Department of AnthropologyBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
- Child and Brain Development ProgramCIFARTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Elizabeth Y. Kim
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
- Department of BiologyBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
| | - Tiffany Luan
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
| | - Lauren J. Young
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
| | - Brian Adjetey
- Human Evolutionary Biology and Health LabBaylor UniversityWacoTexasUSA
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15
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Hora M, Pontzer H, Struška M, Entin P, Sládek V. Comparing walking and running in persistence hunting. J Hum Evol 2022; 172:103247. [PMID: 36152433 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
It has been proposed that humans' exceptional locomotor endurance evolved partly with foraging in hot open habitats and subsequently about 2 million years ago with persistence hunting, for which endurance running was instrumental. However, persistence hunting by walking, if successful, could select for locomotor endurance even before the emergence of any running-related traits in human evolution. Using a heat exchange model validated here in 73 humans and 55 ungulates, we simulated persistence hunts for prey of three sizes (100, 250, and 400 kg) and three sweating capacities (nonsweating, low, high) at 6237 combinations of hunter's velocity (1-5 m s-1, intermittent), air temperature (25-45 °C), relative humidity (30-90%), and start time (8:00-16:00). Our simulations predicted that walking would be successful in persistence hunting of low- and nonsweating prey, especially under hot and humid conditions. However, simulated persistence hunts by walking yielded a 30-74% lower success rate than hunts by running or intermittent running. In addition, despite requiring 10-30% less energy, successful simulated persistence hunts by walking were twice as long and resulted in greater exhaustion of the hunter than hunts by running and intermittent running. These shortcomings of pursuit by walking compared to running identified in our simulations could explain why there is only a single direct description of persistence hunting by walking among modern hunter-gatherers. Nevertheless, walking down prey could be a viable option for hominins who did not possess the endurance-running phenotype of the proposed first persistence hunter, Homo erectus. Our simulation results suggest that persistence hunting could select for both long-distance walking and endurance running and contribute to the evolution of locomotor endurance seen in modern humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hora
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague, 12800, Czech Republic; Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, 130 Science Drive, Durham, NC, 27708, USA; Global Health Institute, Duke University, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC, 27710, USA
| | - Michal Struška
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague, 12800, Czech Republic
| | - Pauline Entin
- College of Arts & Sciences, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth, MA, 02747, USA
| | - Vladimír Sládek
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague, 12800, Czech Republic
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16
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Husak JF, Lailvaux SP. Conserved and convergent mechanisms underlying performance-life-history trade-offs. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:274252. [PMID: 35119073 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.243351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypic trade-offs are inevitable in nature, but the mechanisms driving them are poorly understood. Movement and oxygen are essential to all animals, and as such, the common ancestor to all living animals passed on mechanisms to acquire oxygen and contract muscle, sometimes at the expense of other activities or expression of traits. Nevertheless, convergent pathways have also evolved to deal with critical trade-offs that are necessary to survive ubiquitous environmental challenges. We discuss how whole-animal performance traits, such as locomotion, are important to fitness, yet costly, resulting in trade-offs with other aspects of the phenotype via specific conserved and convergent mechanistic pathways across all animals. Specifically, we discuss conserved pathways involved in muscle structure and signaling, insulin/insulin-like signaling, sirtuins, mitochondria and hypoxia-inducible factors, as well as convergent pathways involved in energy regulation, development, reproductive investment and energy storage. The details of these mechanisms are only known from a few model systems, and more comparative studies are needed. We make two main recommendations as a framework for future studies of animal form and function. First, studies of performance should consider the broader life-history context of the organism, and vice versa, as performance expression can require a large portion of acquired resources. Second, studies of life histories or mechanistic pathways that measure performance should do so in meaningful and standardized ways. Understanding proximate mechanisms of phenotypic trade-offs will not only better explain the phenotypes of the organisms we study, but also allow predictions about phenotypic variation at the evolutionary scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerry F Husak
- Department of Biology, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN 55105, USA
| | - Simon P Lailvaux
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
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17
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Paternal Exercise Improves the Metabolic Health of Offspring via Epigenetic Modulation of the Germline. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 23:ijms23010001. [PMID: 35008427 PMCID: PMC8744992 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS Epigenetic regulation is considered the main molecular mechanism underlying the developmental origin of health and disease's (DOHAD) hypothesis. Previous studies that have investigated the role of paternal exercise on the metabolic health of the offspring did not control for the amount and intensity of the training or possible effects of adaptation to exercise and produced conflicting results regarding the benefits of parental exercise to the next generation. We employed a precisely regulated exercise regimen to study the transgenerational inheritance of improved metabolic health. METHODS We subjected male mice to a well-controlled exercise -training program to investigate the effects of paternal exercise on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in their adult progeny. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance, we determined chromatin markers in the skeletal muscle of the offspring and the paternal sperm. RESULTS Offspring of trained male mice exhibited improved glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity. Paternal exercise modulated the DNA methylation profile of PI3Kca and the imprinted H19/Igf2 locus at specific differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in the skeletal muscle of the offspring, which affected their gene expression. Remarkably, a similar DNA methylation profile at the PI3Kca, H19, and Igf2 genes was present in the progenitor sperm indicating that exercise-induced epigenetic changes that occurred during germ cell development contributed to transgenerational transmission. CONCLUSION Paternal exercise might be considered as a strategy that could promote metabolic health in the offspring as the benefits can be inherited transgenerationally.
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18
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The active grandparent hypothesis: Physical activity and the evolution of extended human healthspans and lifespans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2107621118. [PMID: 34810239 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107621118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The proximate mechanisms by which physical activity (PA) slows senescence and decreases morbidity and mortality have been extensively documented. However, we lack an ultimate, evolutionary explanation for why lifelong PA, particularly during middle and older age, promotes health. As the growing worldwide epidemic of physical inactivity accelerates the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases among aging populations, integrating evolutionary and biomedical perspectives can foster new insights into how and why lifelong PA helps preserve health and extend lifespans. Building on previous life-history research, we assess the evidence that humans were selected not just to live several decades after they cease reproducing but also to be moderately physically active during those postreproductive years. We next review the longstanding hypothesis that PA promotes health by allocating energy away from potentially harmful overinvestments in fat storage and reproductive tissues and propose the novel hypothesis that PA also stimulates energy allocation toward repair and maintenance processes. We hypothesize that selection in humans for lifelong PA, including during postreproductive years to provision offspring, promoted selection for both energy allocation pathways which synergistically slow senescence and reduce vulnerability to many forms of chronic diseases. As a result, extended human healthspans and lifespans are both a cause and an effect of habitual PA, helping explain why lack of lifelong PA in humans can increase disease risk and reduce longevity.
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19
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Ocobock C, Soppela P, Turunen M, Stenbäck V, Herzig KH, Rimbach R, Pontzer H. Reindeer herders from subarctic Finland exhibit high total energy expenditure and low energy intake during the autumn herd roundup. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 34:e23676. [PMID: 34520587 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE High levels of total energy expenditure (TEE, kcal/day) have been documented among numerous human populations such as tropical climate horticulturalists and high-altitude agriculturalists. However, less work has been conducted among highly physically active cold climate populations. METHODS In October 2018, TEE was measured using the doubly labeled water (TEEDLW , N = 10) and flex-heart rate methods (TEEHR , N = 24) for 6-14 days among reindeer herders (20-62 years) in northern Finland during an especially physically demanding, but not seasonally representative, period of the year for herders-the annual reindeer herd roundup. Self-reported dietary intake was also collected during TEE measurement periods. TEE was then compared to that of hunter gatherer, farming, and market economies. RESULTS During the herd roundup, herders expended a mean of 4183 ± 949 kcal/day as measured by the DLW method, which was not significantly different from TEEHR . Mean caloric intake was 1718 ± 709 kcal/day, and was significantly lower than TEEDLW and TEEHR (p < .001). Herder TEEDLW was significantly higher than that of hunter gatherer (p = .0014) and market (p < .0014) economy populations; however, herder TEEDLW was not different from that of farming populations (p = .91). CONCLUSION High TEE and low caloric intake among herders reflect the extreme demands placed on herders during the annual herd round up. Although TEEDLW was similar between cold climate herders and hot climate farming populations, there are likely differences in how that TEE is comprised, reflecting the local ecologies of these populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara Ocobock
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.,Eck Institute for Global Health, Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Päivi Soppela
- University of Lapland, Arctic Centre, Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Minna Turunen
- University of Lapland, Arctic Centre, Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Ville Stenbäck
- Research Unit of Biomedicine, Medical Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.,Biocenter Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Karl-Heinz Herzig
- Research Unit of Biomedicine, Medical Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.,Institute of Pediatrics, Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
| | - Rebecca Rimbach
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.,School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.,Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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20
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Oxidative stress and the differential expression of traits associated with mating effort in humans. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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21
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Pontzer H, Wood BM. Effects of Evolution, Ecology, and Economy on Human Diet: Insights from Hunter-Gatherers and Other Small-Scale Societies. Annu Rev Nutr 2021; 41:363-385. [PMID: 34138633 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-111120-105520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We review the evolutionary origins of the human diet and the effects of ecology economy on the dietary proportion of plants and animals. Humans eat more meat than other apes, a consequence of hunting and gathering, which arose ∼2.5 Mya with the genus Homo. Paleolithic diets likely included a balance of plant and animal foods and would have been remarkably variable across time and space. A plant/animal food balance of 40-60% prevails among contemporary warm-climate hunter-gatherers, but these proportions vary widely. Societies in cold climates, and those that depend more on fishing or pastoralism, tend to eat more meat. Warm-climate foragers, and groups that engage in some farming, tend to eat more plants. We present a case study of the wild food diet of the Hadza, a community of hunter-gatherers in northern Tanzania, whose diet is high in fiber, adequate in protein, and remarkably variable over monthly timescales. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Nutrition, Volume 41 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herman Pontzer
- Evolutionary Anthropology and Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA;
| | - Brian M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany 604103
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22
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Yegian AK, Tucker Y, Gillinov S, Lieberman DE. Shorter distal forelimbs benefit bipedal walking and running mechanics: Implications for hominin forelimb evolution. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175:589-598. [PMID: 33818760 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Brachial index is a skeletal ratio that describes the relative length of the distal forelimb. Over the course of hominin evolution, a shift toward smaller brachial indices occurred. First, Pleistocene australopiths yield values between extant chimpanzees and humans, with further evolution in Pliocene Homo to the modern human range. We hypothesized that shorter distal forelimbs benefit walking and running performance, notably elbow and shoulder joint torques, and predicted that the benefit would be greater in running compared to walking. MATERIALS AND METHODS We tested our hypothesis in a modern human sample walking and running while carrying hand weights, which increase the inertia (mass and effective length) of the distal forelimb, simulating a larger brachial index. RESULTS We found longer distal forelimbs and the added mass increased elbow muscle torque by 98% while walking and 70% in running, confirming our hypothesis that shorter distal forelimbs benefit walking and running performance. Shoulder muscle torque similarly increased in both gaits with the addition of hand weights due to elongation of the effective forelimb length. Normalized elbow torque, which accounted for the effect on shoulder torque caused by the experimental manipulation, increased by 16% while walking but 52% while running, indicating that shorter distal forelimbs provide a greater benefit for running by approximately three-fold. DISCUSSION Selection for economical bipedal walking in Australopithecus and endurance running in Homo likely contributed to the shift toward relatively smaller distal forelimbs across hominin evolution, with modern human proportions attained in Pleistocene Homo erectus and retained in later species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew K Yegian
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Yanish Tucker
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.,School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
| | - Stephen Gillinov
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Daniel E Lieberman
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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23
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Ben-Dor M, Sirtoli R, Barkai R. The evolution of the human trophic level during the Pleistocene. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175 Suppl 72:27-56. [PMID: 33675083 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The human trophic level (HTL) during the Pleistocene and its degree of variability serve, explicitly or tacitly, as the basis of many explanations for human evolution, behavior, and culture. Previous attempts to reconstruct the HTL have relied heavily on an analogy with recent hunter-gatherer groups' diets. In addition to technological differences, recent findings of substantial ecological differences between the Pleistocene and the Anthropocene cast doubt regarding that analogy's validity. Surprisingly little systematic evolution-guided evidence served to reconstruct HTL. Here, we reconstruct the HTL during the Pleistocene by reviewing evidence for the impact of the HTL on the biological, ecological, and behavioral systems derived from various existing studies. We adapt a paleobiological and paleoecological approach, including evidence from human physiology and genetics, archaeology, paleontology, and zoology, and identified 25 sources of evidence in total. The evidence shows that the trophic level of the Homo lineage that most probably led to modern humans evolved from a low base to a high, carnivorous position during the Pleistocene, beginning with Homo habilis and peaking in Homo erectus. A reversal of that trend appears in the Upper Paleolithic, strengthening in the Mesolithic/Epipaleolithic and Neolithic, and culminating with the advent of agriculture. We conclude that it is possible to reach a credible reconstruction of the HTL without relying on a simple analogy with recent hunter-gatherers' diets. The memory of an adaptation to a trophic level that is embedded in modern humans' biology in the form of genetics, metabolism, and morphology is a fruitful line of investigation of past HTLs, whose potential we have only started to explore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miki Ben-Dor
- Department of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Ran Barkai
- Department of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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24
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Lee KMN, Rogers-LaVanne MP, Galbarczyk A, Jasienska G, Clancy KBH. Bone density and frame size in adult women: Effects of body size, habitual use, and life history. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 33:e23502. [PMID: 32935454 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Bone mineral density (BMD) and frame size are important predictors of future bone health, with smaller frame size and lower BMD associated with higher risk of later fragility fractures. We test the effects of body size, habitual use, and life history on frame size and cortical BMD of the radius and tibia in sample of healthy adult premenopausal women. METHODS We used anthropometry and life history data from 123 women (age 18-46) from rural Poland. Standard techniques were used to measure height, weight, and body fat. Life history factors were recorded using surveys. Grip strength was measured as a proxy for habitual activity, wrist breadth for skeletal frame size. Cortical BMD was measured at the one-third distal point of the radius and mid-point of the tibia using quantitative ultrasound (reported as speed of sound, SoS). RESULTS Radial SoS was high (mean t-score 3.2 ± 1.6), but tibia SoS was average (mean t-score 0.35 ± 1.17). SoS was not associated with age, although wrist breadth was positively associated with age after adjusting for height. Radius SoS was not associated with measures of body size, habitual use, or life history factors. Wrist breadth was associated with body size (p < .05 for all), lean mass, and grip strength. Tibia SoS was associated with height. Life history factors were not associated with frame size or cortical SoS. CONCLUSIONS Habitual use and overall body size are more strongly associated with frame size and cortical SoS than life history factors in this sample of healthy adult women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine M N Lee
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Mary P Rogers-LaVanne
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Andrzej Galbarczyk
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Grazyna Jasienska
- Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
| | - Kathryn B H Clancy
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.,Beckman Institute of Advanced Science & Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
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25
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Prenatal vestibular stimulation as dance (VES-D) program: A mixed methods feasibility study. ARTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2020.101685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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26
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Sarma MS, Boyette AH, Lew-Levy S, Miegakanda V, Kilius E, Samson DR, Gettler LT. Sex differences in daily activity intensity and energy expenditure and their relationship to cortisol among BaYaka foragers from the Congo Basin. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 172:423-437. [PMID: 32441329 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The pooling of energetic resources and food sharing have been widely documented among hunter-gatherer societies. Much less is known about how the energetic costs of daily activities are distributed across individuals in such groups, including between women and men. Moreover, the metabolic physiological correlates of those activities and costs are relatively understudied. MATERIALS AND METHODS Here, we tracked physical activity, energy expenditure (EE), and cortisol production among Congo Basin BaYaka foragers engaged in a variety of daily subsistence activities (n = 37). Given its role in energy mobilization, we measured overall daily cortisol production and short-term cortisol reactivity through saliva sampling; we measured physical activity levels and total EE via the wGT3X-bt actigraph and heart rate monitor. RESULTS We found that there were no sex differences in likelihood of working in common activity locations (forest, garden, house). Across the day, women spent greater percentage time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (%MVPA) and had lower total EE than men. Females with higher EE (kCal/hr) produced greater cortisol throughout the day. Though not statistically significant, we also found that individuals with greater %MVPA had larger decreases in cortisol reactivity. DISCUSSION BaYaka women sustained higher levels of physical activity but incurred lower energetic costs than men, even after factoring in sex differences in body composition. Our findings suggest that the distribution of physical activity demands and costs are relevant to discussions regarding how labor is divided and community energy budgets take shape in such settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mallika S Sarma
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Adam H Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada.,Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Valchy Miegakanda
- Institut National de Santé Publique, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | - Erica Kilius
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
| | - David R Samson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Canada
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.,The Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
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27
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Longman DP, Wells JCK, Stock JT. Human athletic paleobiology; using sport as a model to investigate human evolutionary adaptation. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 171 Suppl 70:42-59. [PMID: 31957878 PMCID: PMC7217212 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The use of sport as a conceptual framework offers unprecedented opportunities to improve our understanding of what the body does, shedding new light on our evolutionary trajectory, our capacity for adaptation, and the underlying biological mechanisms. This approach has gained traction over recent years. To date, sport has facilitated exploration not only of the evolutionary history of our species as a whole, but also of human variation and adaptation at the interindividual and intraindividual levels. At the species level, analysis of lower and upper limb biomechanics and energetics with respect to walking, running and throwing have led to significant advances in the understanding of human adaptations relative to other hominins. From an interindividual perspective, investigation of physical activity patterns and endurance running performance is affording greater understanding of evolved constraints of energy expenditure, thermoregulatory energetics, signaling theory, and morphological variation. Furthermore, ultra-endurance challenges provoke functional trade-offs, allowing new ground to be broken in the study of life history trade-offs and human adaptability. Human athletic paleobiology-the recruitment of athletes as study participants and the use of contemporary sports as a model for studying evolutionary theory-has great potential. Here, we draw from examples in the literature to provide a review of how the use of athletes as a model system is enhancing understanding of human evolutionary adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P. Longman
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health SciencesLoughborough UniversityLoughboroughUK
| | | | - Jay T. Stock
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of Western OntarioLondonOntarioCanada
- Department of ArchaeologyMax Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryJenaGermany
- Department of ArchaeologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
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28
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Emery Thompson M, Fox SA, Berghänel A, Sabbi KH, Phillips-Garcia S, Enigk DK, Otali E, Machanda ZP, Wrangham RW, Muller MN. Wild chimpanzees exhibit humanlike aging of glucocorticoid regulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:8424-8430. [PMID: 32229565 PMCID: PMC7165472 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1920593117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Cortisol, a key product of the stress response, has critical influences on degenerative aging in humans. In turn, cortisol production is affected by senescence of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to progressive dysregulation and increased cortisol exposure. These processes have been studied extensively in industrialized settings, but few comparative data are available from humans and closely related species living in natural environments, where stressors are very different. Here, we examine age-related changes in urinary cortisol in a 20-y longitudinal study of wild chimpanzees (n = 59 adults) in the Kanyawara community of Kibale National Park, Uganda. We tested for three key features of HPA aging identified in many human studies: increased average levels, a blunted diurnal rhythm, and enhanced response to stressors. Using linear mixed models, we found that aging was associated with a blunting of the diurnal rhythm and a significant linear increase in cortisol, even after controlling for changes in dominance rank. These effects did not differ by sex. Aging did not increase sensitivity to energetic stress or social status. Female chimpanzees experienced their highest levels of cortisol during cycling (versus lactation), and this effect increased with age. Male chimpanzees experienced their highest levels when exposed to sexually attractive females, but this effect was diminished by age. Our results indicate that chimpanzees share some key features of HPA aging with humans. These findings suggest that impairments of HPA regulation are intrinsic to the aging process in hominids and are side effects neither of extended human life span nor of atypical environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Emery Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131;
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Stephanie A Fox
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
| | - Andreas Berghänel
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
- Domestication Lab, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Kris H Sabbi
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
| | | | - Drew K Enigk
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
| | - Emily Otali
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Zarin P Machanda
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
- Department of Anthropology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155
| | - Richard W Wrangham
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Martin N Muller
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
- Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
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29
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Stibbard‐Hawkes DNE, Attenborough RD, Mabulla IA, Marlowe FW. To the hunter go the spoils? No evidence of nutritional benefit to being or marrying a well‐reputed Hadza hunter. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 173:61-79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert D. Attenborough
- Department of Archaeology and AnthropologyCambridge University Cambridge UK
- School of Archaeology and AnthropologyThe Australian National University Canberra Australia
| | - Ibrahim A. Mabulla
- Institute of Resource AssessmentUniversity of Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam Tanzania
| | - Frank W. Marlowe
- Department of Archaeology and AnthropologyCambridge University Cambridge UK
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30
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31
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Zhang Q, Roche M, Gheres KW, Chaigneau E, Kedarasetti RT, Haselden WD, Charpak S, Drew PJ. Cerebral oxygenation during locomotion is modulated by respiration. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5515. [PMID: 31797933 PMCID: PMC6893036 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13523-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In the brain, increased neural activity is correlated with increases of cerebral blood flow and tissue oxygenation. However, how cerebral oxygen dynamics are controlled in the behaving animal remains unclear. We investigated to what extent cerebral oxygenation varies during locomotion. We measured oxygen levels in the cortex of awake, head-fixed mice during locomotion using polarography, spectroscopy, and two-photon phosphorescence lifetime measurements of oxygen sensors. We find that locomotion significantly and globally increases cerebral oxygenation, specifically in areas involved in locomotion, as well as in the frontal cortex and the olfactory bulb. The oxygenation increase persists when neural activity and functional hyperemia are blocked, occurred both in the tissue and in arteries feeding the brain, and is tightly correlated with respiration rate and the phase of respiration cycle. Thus, breathing rate is a key modulator of cerebral oxygenation and should be monitored during hemodynamic imaging, such as in BOLD fMRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingguang Zhang
- Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Morgane Roche
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1128, Paris, France.,Laboratory of Neurophysiology and New Microscopies, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
| | - Kyle W Gheres
- Graduate Program in Molecular Cellular and Integrative Biosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Emmanuelle Chaigneau
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1128, Paris, France.,Laboratory of Neurophysiology and New Microscopies, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
| | - Ravi T Kedarasetti
- Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - William D Haselden
- Medical Scientist Training Program and Neuroscience Graduate Program, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Serge Charpak
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1128, Paris, France.,Laboratory of Neurophysiology and New Microscopies, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
| | - Patrick J Drew
- Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA. .,Department of Neurosurgery and Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
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32
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Trumble BC, Finch CE. THE EXPOSOME IN HUMAN EVOLUTION: FROM DUST TO DIESEL. THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY 2019; 94:333-394. [PMID: 32269391 PMCID: PMC7141577 DOI: 10.1086/706768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Global exposures to air pollution and cigarette smoke are novel in human evolutionary history and are associated with about 16 million premature deaths per year. We investigate the history of the human exposome for relationships between novel environmental toxins and genetic changes during human evolution in six phases. Phase I: With increased walking on savannas, early human ancestors inhaled crustal dust, fecal aerosols, and spores; carrion scavenging introduced new infectious pathogens. Phase II: Domestic fire exposed early Homo to novel toxins from smoke and cooking. Phases III and IV: Neolithic to preindustrial Homo sapiens incurred infectious pathogens from domestic animals and dense communities with limited sanitation. Phase V: Industrialization introduced novel toxins from fossil fuels, industrial chemicals, and tobacco at the same time infectious pathogens were diminishing. Thereby, pathogen-driven causes of mortality were replaced by chronic diseases driven by sterile inflammogens, exogenous and endogenous. Phase VI: Considers future health during global warming with increased air pollution and infections. We hypothesize that adaptation to some ancient toxins persists in genetic variations associated with inflammation and longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin C Trumble
- School of Human Evolution & Social Change and Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona 85287 USA
| | - Caleb E Finch
- Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and Dornsife College, University of Southern California Los Angeles, California 90089-0191 USA
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33
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Swanson ZS, Pontzer H. Water turnover among human populations: Effects of environment and lifestyle. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 32:e23365. [PMID: 31782865 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To discuss the environmental and lifestyle determinants of water balance in humans and identify the gaps in current research regarding water use across populations. METHODS We investigated intraspecific variation in water turnover by comparing data derived from a large number of human populations measured using either dietary survey or isotope tracking. We also used published data from a broad sample of mammalian species to identify the interspecific relationship between body mass and water turnover. RESULTS Water facilitates nearly all physiological tasks and water turnover is strongly related to body size among mammals (r2=0.90). Within humans, however, the effect of body size is small. Instead, water intake and turnover vary with lifestyle and environmental conditions. Notably, despite living physically active lives in conditions that should increase water demands, the available measures of water intake and turnover among small-scale farming and pastoralist communities are broadly similar to those in less active, industrialized populations. CONCLUSIONS More work is required to better understand the environmental, behavioral, and cultural determinants of water turnover in humans living across a variety of ecosystems and lifestyles. The results of such work are made more vital by the climate crisis, which threatens the water security of millions around the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zane S Swanson
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.,Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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34
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Wutich A, Rosinger AY, Stoler J, Jepson W, Brewis A. Measuring Human Water Needs. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 32:e23350. [PMID: 31702101 PMCID: PMC7050503 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Water connects the environment, culture, and biology, yet only recently has it emerged as a major focus for research in human biology. To facilitate such research, we describe methods to measure biological, environmental, and perceptual indicators of human water needs. This toolkit provides an overview of methods for assessing different dimensions of human water need, both well‐established and newly‐developed. These include: (a) markers of hydration (eg, urine specific gravity, doubly labeled water) important for measuring the impacts of water need on human biological functioning; (b) methods for measuring water quality (eg, digital colorimeter, membrane filtration) essential for understanding the health risks associated with exposure to microbiological, organic, metal, inorganic nonmental, and other contaminants; and (c) assessments of household water insecurity status that track aspects of unmet water needs (eg, inadequate water service, unaffordability, and experiences of water insecurity) that are directly relevant to human health and biology. Together, these methods can advance new research about the role of water in human biology and health, including the ways that insufficient, unsafe, or insecure water produces negative biological and health outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Asher Y Rosinger
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.,Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| | - Justin Stoler
- Department of Geography, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida.,Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
| | - Wendy Jepson
- Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
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35
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Lew-Levy S, Boyette AH, Crittenden AN, Hewlett BS, Lamb ME. Gender-Typed and Gender-Segregated Play Among Tanzanian Hadza and Congolese BaYaka Hunter-Gatherer Children and Adolescents. Child Dev 2019; 91:1284-1301. [PMID: 31553073 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Few data exist on gender-typed and gender-segregated play in hunter-gatherer societies, despite their unique demographic and cultural features which may influence children's gendered play. Using naturalistic observations of Hadza (N = 46, 41% female) and BaYaka (N = 65, 48% female) hunter-gatherer 3- to 18-year-olds from Tanzania and the Republic of Congo, we showed that access to playmates was negatively associated with playing in mixed-gender groups. Young boys did not engage in more rough-and-tumble play than girls, but adolescent boys participated in this type of play more than adolescent girls. Children were also more likely to participate in work-themed play which conformed to gender norms within their society. Findings are discussed within the context of gendered division of labor, child autonomy, and demography.
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36
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Schelp FP, Kraiklang R, Muktabhant B, Chupanit P, Sanchaisuriya P. Public health research needs for molecular epidemiology and to emphasize homeostasis - could the omnipotent endopeptidase inhibitor α-2-macroglobulin be a meaningful biomarker? F1000Res 2019; 8:1025. [PMID: 31824660 PMCID: PMC6880254 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.19781.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Public health authorities in low- and middle-income countries face dramatic challenges in handling rapidly increasing non-communicable diseases (NCDs), due to the epidemiological- and particularly nutritional transition. Among major reasons for the development of NCDs are smoking and alcohol, but overnutrition and obesity are also major threats to population health. Obesity is related to diabetes and cancer, but also has a genetic background. It is difficult to recommend a healthy nutrition. This is because of conflicting nutritional conceptions, and given the complexity of human metabolism understanding this topic can be difficult for the laymen. Public health measures advocating physical activity and refraining from high intake of energy, sugar and soft drinks need to be enhanced by supporting the ‘intrinsic motivation’ to preserve a good health. The mission of public health should be to increase awareness about the complexity of human metabolism, and the involvement of genetic and epigenetics in health and diseases. To maintain homeostasis, means to keep an optimal relationship between catabolism and synthesis, seems to be of particular interest. Preconditions for this is, that public health institutions within the administration- and academic sector follow up developments in life science and molecular biology and conduct population-based research making use of molecular epidemiology, especially those related to key metabolic steps and maintenance of ‘homeostasis’, in balancing catabolism and anabolism. A prospective biomarker for this situation might be α-2-macroglobulin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Peter Schelp
- Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand
| | | | - Benja Muktabhant
- Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand
| | - Pornpimon Chupanit
- Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand
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37
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Izzicupo P, Di Baldassarre A, Ghinassi B, Reichert FF, Kokubun E, Nakamura FY. Can Off-Training Physical Behaviors Influence Recovery in Athletes? A Scoping Review. Front Physiol 2019; 10:448. [PMID: 31114502 PMCID: PMC6503646 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, the attention on recovery in sport increased enormously although there is lack of scientific evidence on the role of lifestyle in terms of movement [i.e., physical behaviors (PBs)], apart from sleep. Few studies assessed physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) in athletes. The aims of this scoping review were to answer to the following scientific questions: (1) How active/inactive are competitive athletes out of training? (2) Do off-training PBs affect recovery, performance, and health? (3) What strategies can be implemented to improve recovery using off-training PBs, apart from sleep? From 1,116 potentially relevant articles, nine were eligible for inclusion in this review. The main issues identified were related to the heterogeneity concerning the types of sports, age category, gender, competitive level, sample size, and instruments/devices adopted, the paucity of studies investigating the effects of PBs while awake on recovery, and the lack of experimental designs manipulating PBs while awake to accelerate recovery. Furthermore, PA and SB domains were rarely investigated, while no research articles focused on the combined effect of 24-h PBs. Eight out of nine studies measured PA, seven SB, and two included sleep. Three studies included training practice into PA measurement by the means of accelerometry. Overall, almost the totality of the athletes achieved recommended PA levels although they sustained prolonged SB. In conclusion, more descriptive researches are needed in different athletic populations and settings. Furthermore, experimental designs aimed at investigating the effects of PBs manipulation on recovery and the putative mechanisms are encouraged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Izzicupo
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Angela Di Baldassarre
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Barbara Ghinassi
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Eduardo Kokubun
- Department of Physical Education, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Fábio Yuzo Nakamura
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti and Pescara, Chieti, Italy.,College of Healthcare Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.,Associate Graduate Program in Physical Education UPE/UFPB, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
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38
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Letsinger AC, Granados JZ, Little SE, Lightfoot JT. Alleles associated with physical activity levels are estimated to be older than anatomically modern humans. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216155. [PMID: 31034533 PMCID: PMC6488090 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the estimated mutation age and conservation of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with physical activity (PA) in humans. All human SNPs found to be significantly associated with PA levels in the literature were cross-referenced with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Grand Opportunity Exome Sequencing Project to find estimated African-American (AA) and European-American (EA) mutation age. As a secondary measure of mutation age, SNPs were searched for in Hawk's mutation age prediction database which utilizes linkage equilibrium. To determine conservation among hominids, all SNPs were searched in the University of California, Santa Cruz Genome Browser, which contains Neanderthal and chimpanzee reference genomes. Six of the 104 SNPs associated with PA regulation were exon-located missense variants found in IFNAR2, PPARGC1A, PML, CTBP2, IL5RA, and APOE genes. The remaining 98 SNPs were located in non-protein coding regions. Average AA and EA estimated mutation age of the exon-located SNPs were 478.4 ± 327.5 kya and 542.1 ± 369.4 kya, respectively. There were four selective sweeps (suggestive of strong positive selection) of SNPs in humans when compared to Neanderthal or chimpanzee genomes. Exon-located PA candidate SNPs are older than the hypothesized emergence of anatomically modern humans. However, 95% of PA associated SNPs are found in intron and intergenic location. Across all SNPs, there seems to be a high level of conservation of alleles between humans, Neanderthals, and chimpanzees. However, the presence of four selective sweeps suggests there were selection pressures or drift unique to Homo sapiens that influenced the development of mutations associated with PA regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayland C. Letsinger
- Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States of America
| | - Jorge Z. Granados
- Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States of America
| | - Sarah E. Little
- Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States of America
| | - J. Timothy Lightfoot
- Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States of America
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39
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Rosinger AY, Ice G. Secondary data analysis to answer questions in human biology. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 31:e23232. [PMID: 30861603 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Revised: 01/03/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite a growing number of publicly available datasets, the use of these datasets for secondary analyses in human biology is less common compared with other fields. Secondary analysis of existing data offers an opportunity for human biologists to ask unique questions through an evolutionary and biocultural lens, allowing for an analysis of cultural and structural nuances that affect health. Leveraging publicly available datasets for human biology research is a way for students and established researchers to complement their data collection, use existing data for master's and doctoral theses, pilot test questions, and use existing data to answer interesting new questions or explore questions at the population level. Here we describe where publicly available data are stored, highlighting some data repositories and how to access them. We then discuss how to decide which dataset is right, depending on the research question. Next, we describe steps to construct datasets, analytical considerations and methodological challenges, best practices, and limitations depending on the structure of the study. We close by highlighting a number of publicly available datasets that have been used by human biologists and other datasets that may be of interest to the community, including research that has been conducted on some example datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asher Y Rosinger
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania.,Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania
| | - Gillian Ice
- Department Social Medicine, Ohio University, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, Ohio.,Global Health Initiative, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Athens, Ohio
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40
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Pontzer H. Energy Constraint as a Novel Mechanism Linking Exercise and Health. Physiology (Bethesda) 2019; 33:384-393. [PMID: 30303776 DOI: 10.1152/physiol.00027.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans and other species adapt dynamically to changes in daily physical activity, maintaining total energy expenditure within a narrow range. Chronic exercise thus suppresses other physiological activity, including immunity, reproduction, and stress response. This exercise-induced downregulation improves health at moderate levels of physical activity but can be detrimental at extreme workloads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herman Pontzer
- Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University , Durham, North Carolina
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Christopher L, Madimenos FC, Bribiescas RG, Urlacher SS, Snodgrass JJ, Sugiyama LS, Pontzer H. High energy requirements and water throughput of adult Shuar forager-horticulturalists of Amazonian Ecuador. Am J Hum Biol 2019; 31:e23223. [PMID: 30801886 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Revised: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We measured total energy expenditure (TEE; kcal/d) and water throughput (L/d) among Shuar forager-horticulturalists from Amazonian Ecuador to compare their daily energy and water demands to adults in other small-scale and industrialized populations. METHODS TEE and water throughput were measured using the doubly labeled water method among 15 Shuar adults (eight women, seven men; age range 18-60 years) living in a relatively remote village. We used multiple regression to assess the effects of anthropometric variables (body size, fat free mass, age, and sex) on TEE and water throughput. We also compared Shuar TEE and water throughput to those of other small-scale and industrialized societies. RESULTS TEE among Shuar adults (men: 4141 ± 645 kcal/d, women: 2536 ± 281 kcal/d) was most strongly correlated with fat free mass. Estimated physical activity levels (PAL) calculated as (TEE/estimated BMR), were greater for men (2.34 ± 0.29) than women (1.83 ± 0.14, P < 0.001). Water throughput was also greater among Shuar men (9.37 ± 2.34 L/d) than women (4.76 ± 0.36 L/d, P < 0.001). Shuar TEE and water throughput were elevated compared to adults in industrialized populations. DISCUSSION TEE and PAL of Shuar men are among the highest recorded during normal daily life, and likely reflect both high levels of physical activity and cultural dietary practices. Drinking large amounts of chicha, a traditional carbohydrate-rich drink made from manioc, likely contributes to the high levels of water throughput among Shuar men, and may contribute to elevated TEE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Christopher
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Felicia C Madimenos
- Department of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY), Flushing, New York.,New York Consortium on Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, New York
| | | | - Samuel S Urlacher
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | | | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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Rosinger AY, Pontzer H, Raichlen DA, Wood BM, Tanner SN, Sands JM. Age-related decline in urine concentration may not be universal: Comparative study from the U.S. and two small-scale societies. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 168:705-716. [PMID: 30706445 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Evidence from industrialized populations suggests that urine concentrating ability declines with age. However, lifestyle factors including episodic protein intake and low hypertension may help explain differences between populations. Whether this age-related decline occurs among small-scale populations with active lifestyles and non-Western diets is unknown. We test the universality of age-related urine concentration decline. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used urine specific gravity (Usg) and urine osmolality (Uosm) data from 15,055 U.S. nonpregnant adults without kidney failure aged 18-80 in 2007-2012 participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We tested the relationship of age on urine concentration biomarkers with multiple linear regressions using survey commands. We compared results to longitudinal data on Usg from 116 Tsimane' forager-horticulturalists (266 observations) adults aged 18-83 in 2013-2014 from Lowland Bolivia, and to 38 Hadza hunter-gatherers (156 observations) aged 18-75 in 2010-2015 from Tanzania using random-effects panel linear regressions. RESULTS Among U.S. adults, age was significantly negatively associated with Usg (Adjusted beta [B] = -0.0009 g/mL/10 years; SE = 0.0001; p < 0.001) and Uosm (B = -28.1 mOsm/kg/10 yr; SE = 2.4; p < 0.001). In contrast, among Tsimane' (B = 0.0003 g/mL/10 yr; SE = 0.0002; p = 0.16) and Hadza (B = -0.0004 g/mL/10 yr; SE = 0.0004; p = 0.29) age was not associated with Usg. Older Tsimane' and Hadza exhibited similar within-individual variability in Usg equivalent to younger adults. DISCUSSION While U.S. adults exhibited age-related declines in urine concentration, Tsimane' and Hadza adults did not exhibit the same statistical decline in Usg. Mismatches between evolved physiology and modern environments in lifestyle may affect kidney physiology and disease risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asher Y Rosinger
- Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania.,Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
| | | | - Brian M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Susan N Tanner
- Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
| | - Jeff M Sands
- Department of Medicine, Renal Division, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
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Reid G. Disentangling What We Know About Microbes and Mental Health. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2019; 10:81. [PMID: 30828318 PMCID: PMC6384226 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Much has been written in recent years about the gut-brain axis. Exciting pilot studies suggest probiotic applications to the gut can reduce anxiety and depression via the vagus nerve. But not to diminish such findings, much still needs to be considered, including the fact that the vagus nerve links to many other body sites that also host a microbiome. Questions remain that touch the core of being human: (i) Do our microbes influence happiness and to what extent? (ii) What components of the gut microbiota and their function, including as it relates to mental health, are critical and how do they differ between agile, fit hunter gatherers and obese westerners or Danes described as the happiest people on the planet? (iii) What role do environmental pollutants play in this microbes-host ecosystem? While approaching life from a reductionist perspective has a long history in science, we need to try to interrogate these health and disease issues from a wider perspective. For verification of a link between the gut microbiota and brain, and to test new therapies, human studies are needed, and are long overdue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregor Reid
- Canadian R&D Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Surgery, Western University, London, ON, Canada
- *Correspondence: Gregor Reid
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Froehle AW, Wells GK, Pollom TR, Mabulla AZP, Lew-Levy S, Crittenden AN. Physical activity and time budgets of Hadza forager children: Implications for self-provisioning and the ontogeny of the sexual division of labor. Am J Hum Biol 2018; 31:e23209. [PMID: 30576026 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Revised: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of age and sex on physical activity and time budgets of Hadza children and juveniles, 5-14 years old, including both in-camp and out-of-camp activities. METHODS Behavioral data were derived from ~15 000 hourly in-camp scan observations of 76 individuals and 13 out-of-camp focal follows on nine individuals. The data were used to estimate energy expended and percentage of time engaged in a variety of routine activities, including food collection, childcare, making and repairing tools, and household maintenance. RESULTS Our results suggest that (1) older children spend more time in economic activities; (2) females spend more time engaged in work-related and economic activities in camp, whereas males spend more time engaged in economic activities out of camp; and (3) foraging by both sexes tends to net caloric gains despite being energetically costly. CONCLUSIONS These results show that, among the Hadza, a sexual division of labor begins to emerge in middle childhood and is well in place by adolescence. Furthermore, foraging tends to provide net caloric gains, suggesting that children are capable of reducing at least some of the energetic burden they place upon their parents or alloparents. The findings are relevant to our understanding of the ways in which young foragers allocate their time, the development of sex-specific behavior patterns, and the capacity of children's work efforts to offset the cost of their own care in a cooperative breeding environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew W Froehle
- Department of Kinesiology and Health, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
| | - G Kilian Wells
- School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada.,Nutrition and Reproduction Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
| | - Trevor R Pollom
- Nutrition and Reproduction Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
| | - Audax Z P Mabulla
- Department of Archaeology, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Alyssa N Crittenden
- Nutrition and Reproduction Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
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Doershuk LJ, Saers JPP, Shaw CN, Jashashvili T, Carlson KJ, Stock JT, Ryan TM. Complex variation of trabecular bone structure in the proximal humerus and femur of five modern human populations. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 168:104-118. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lily J. Doershuk
- Department of Anthropology The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
| | - Jaap P. P. Saers
- Department of Archaeology University of Cambridge Cambridge United Kingdom
| | - Colin N. Shaw
- Department of Archaeology University of Cambridge Cambridge United Kingdom
| | - Tea Jashashvili
- Department of Geology and Paleontology Georgian National Museum Tbilisi Georgia
- Molecular Imaging Center, Department of Radiology Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California Los Angeles California
| | - Kristian J. Carlson
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California Los Angeles California
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Jay T. Stock
- Department of Archaeology University of Cambridge Cambridge United Kingdom
- Department of Anthropology Western University London Ontario Canada
| | - Timothy M. Ryan
- Department of Anthropology The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania
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Pontzer H, Wood BM, Raichlen DA. Hunter-gatherers as models in public health. Obes Rev 2018; 19 Suppl 1:24-35. [PMID: 30511505 DOI: 10.1111/obr.12785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 09/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Hunter-gatherer populations are remarkable for their excellent metabolic and cardiovascular health and thus are often used as models in public health, in an effort to understand the root, evolutionary causes of non-communicable diseases. Here, we review recent work on health, activity, energetics and diet among hunter-gatherers and other small-scale societies (e.g. subsistence farmers, horticulturalists and pastoralists), as well as recent fossil and archaeological discoveries, to provide a more comprehensive perspective on lifestyle and health in these populations. We supplement these analyses with new data from the Hadza, a hunter-gatherer population in northern Tanzania. Longevity among small-scale populations approaches that of industrialized populations, and metabolic and cardiovascular disease are rare. Obesity prevalence is very low (<5%), and mean body fat percentage is modest (women: 24-28%, men: 9-18%). Activity levels are high, exceeding 100 min d-1 of moderate and vigorous physical activity, but daily energy expenditures are similar to industrialized populations. Diets in hunter-gatherer and other small-scale societies tend to be less energy dense and richer in fibre and micronutrients than modern diets but are not invariably low carbohydrate as sometimes argued. A more integrative understanding of hunter-gatherer health and lifestyle, including elements beyond diet and activity, will improve public health efforts in industrialized populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Pontzer
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - B M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - D A Raichlen
- School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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Coker RH, Coker MS, Bartlett L, Murphy CJ, Priebe K, Shriver TC, Schoeller DA, Ruby BC. The energy requirements and metabolic benefits of wilderness hunting in Alaska. Physiol Rep 2018; 6:e13925. [PMID: 30430767 PMCID: PMC6236107 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.13925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The purported healthy aspects of subsistence foods have led to the popularity of the Paleo diet. There has been very little focus, surprisingly, on health benefits derived from the nomadic nature of humans during the Paleolithic era. The purpose of our study was to examine total energy expenditure (TEE), total energy intake (TEI), body composition, blood lipids, and intrahepatic lipid in humans during a 12-day Alaskan backcountry expeditionary hunting (ABEH) immersion. Four healthy men (age: 42 ± 3 year, BMI: 27 ± 1 kg/m2 ) were recruited for the study. TEE was measured using the doubly labeled water method and a food diary was utilized to assess TEI. Body composition was measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA); cross-sectional area of the thigh (XT) and intrahepatic lipid (IHL) were measured using molecular imaging. Blood samples were collected for the measurement of blood lipids. DXA, XT, IHL, and blood data were collected pre- and immediately post-ABEH. Results were analyzed using paired t-tests and considered significant at P < 0.05. TEE and TEI averaged 18.1 ± 1.2 and 9.1 ± 2.5 MJ/day, respectively, indicating substantial negative energy balance (-9.0 ± 1.3 MJ/day). There was a reduction in percent body fat (∆-3.3 ± 0.2%), total fat mass (∆-3.3 ± 0.4 kg), and visceral fat volume (Δ-261 ± 188 cm3 ). Lean tissue mass and XT was unchanged. There was a decrease in IHL (Δ-0.5 ± 0.1% water peak), and a trend (P = 0.055) toward reduction in LDL-cholesterol. We conclude that constancy of physical activity during negative energy balance may provide metabolic benefits above and beyond variations in diet that exist with the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert H. Coker
- Institute of Arctic BiologyUniversity of Alaska FairbanksFairbanksAlaska
| | - Melynda S. Coker
- School of ManagementUniversity of Alaska FairbanksFairbanksAlaska
| | | | - Carl J. Murphy
- Isotope Ratio Core LaboratoryUniversity of Wisconsin‐MadisonMadisonWisconsin
| | - Karolina Priebe
- Institute of Arctic BiologyUniversity of Alaska FairbanksFairbanksAlaska
| | - Timothy C. Shriver
- Isotope Ratio Core LaboratoryUniversity of Wisconsin‐MadisonMadisonWisconsin
| | - Dale A. Schoeller
- Isotope Ratio Core LaboratoryUniversity of Wisconsin‐MadisonMadisonWisconsin
| | - Brent C. Ruby
- Montana Center for Work Physiology and Exercise MetabolismUniversity of MontanaMissoulaMontana
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48
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Hoover KC, Berbesque JC. Early Holocene morphological variation in hunter-gatherer hands and feet. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5564. [PMID: 30202658 PMCID: PMC6129140 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The Windover mortuary pond dates to the Early Archaic period (6,800–5,200 years ago) and constitutes one of the earliest archaeological sites with intact and well-preserved human remains in North America. Unlike many prehistoric egalitarian hunter-gatherers, the Windover people may not have practiced a sex-based division of labor; rather, they may have shared the load. We explore how mobility and subsistence, as reconstructed from archaeological data, influenced hand and foot bone morphology at Windover. Methods We took length and width measurements on four carpal bones, four tarsal bones, and load-bearing tarsal areas (calcaneus load arm, trochlea of the talus). We analyzed lateralization using side differences in raw length and width measurements. For other hypothesis testing, we used log transformed length-width ratios to mitigate the confounding effects of sexual dimorphism and trait size variation; we tested between-sex differences in weight-bearing (rear foot) and shock-absorbing (mid foot) tarsal bones and between-sex differences in carpal bones. Results We identified no significant between-sex differences in rear and midfoot areas, suggesting similar biomechanical stresses. We identified no significant between-sex differences in carpal bones but the test was under-powered due to small sample sizes. Finally, despite widespread behavioral evidence on contemporary populations for human hand and foot lateralization, we found no evidence of either handedness or footedness. Discussion The lack evidence for footedness was expected due its minimal impact on walking gait but the lack of evidence for handedness was surprising given that ethnographic studies have shown strong handedness in hunter-gatherers during tool and goods manufacture. The reconstructed activity patterns suggested both sexes engaged in heavy load carrying and a shared division of labor. Our results support previous findings—both sexes had stronger weight-bearing bones. Male shock-absorbing bones exhibited a trend towards greater relative width (suggesting greater comparative biomechanical stress) than females which may reflect the typical pattern of male hunter-gatherers engaging in walking greater distances at higher speeds than females. While there were no significant between-sex differences in carpal bones (supporting a shared work load model), females exhibited greater variation in index values, which may reflect a greater variety of and specialization in tasks compared to males. Because carpals and tarsals are so well-preserved at archaeological sites, we had surmised they might be useful proxies for activity in the absence of well-preserved long bones. Tarsals provide a stronger signal of past activity and may be useful in the absence of, or in addition to, preferred bones. Carpals, however, may not be useful as the effect size of biomechanical stress (in this study at least) is low and would require larger samples than may be possible at archaeological sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara C Hoover
- Department of Anthropology and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, United States of America
| | - J Colette Berbesque
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Inter-Disciplinary Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, United Kingdom
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Seasonal variation in energy expenditure in a rodent inhabiting a winter-rainfall desert. J Comp Physiol B 2018; 188:877-888. [PMID: 29948157 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-018-1168-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2018] [Revised: 05/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Animals that spend more energy than they obtain risk entering allostatic overload, reducing survival and fitness. They are predicted to adjust their daily energy expenditure (DEE) during periods of food scarcity. Adjustments of DEE to changes in food availability have been well-studied in species in temperate zones during winter, but less so in species enduring seasonal droughts. Likely mechanisms regulating DEE involve adjustments of activity and maintenance metabolism. Species that experience seasonal droughts and changes in food availability, like the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio), are appropriate model organisms to study the regulation of seasonal changes of DEE. We quantified DEE using the 'doubly labelled water' method, measured resting metabolic rate (RMR), and concomitantly determined activity levels using all-day focal observations of 69 free-living striped mice in the cold moist season with high food availability and the hot dry season with low food availability. Striped mice decreased their DEE in the food scarce dry season using multiple mechanisms, especially reductions in RMR, and reduced overall physical activity. This was further facilitated passively by reduced thermoregulatory costs. Our study demonstrates that animals reduce DEE via active and passive mechanisms in food-restricted environments, and highlights that several environmental factors should be considered simultaneously when aiming to understand how animals cope with harsh environments.
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50
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Veile A. Hunter-gatherer diets and human behavioral evolution. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:190-195. [PMID: 29800635 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Human behavior and physiology evolved under conditions vastly different from those which most humans inhabit today. This paper summarizes long-term dietary studies conducted on contemporary hunter-gatherer populations (sometimes referred to as foragers). Selected studies for the most part that use evolutionary theoretical perspectives and data collection methods derived from the academic field of human behavioral ecology, which derives relatively recently from the fields of evolutionary biology, ethology, population biology and ecological anthropology. I demonstrate how this body of research illuminates ancestral patterns of food production, consumption and sharing, infant feeding, and juvenile subsistence contributions in hunter-gatherer economies. Insights from hunter-gatherer studies are then briefly discussed within the context of better-studied human populations that are Westernized, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Veile
- Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, USA; Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, USA.
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