Is this claim true for fat people and why?

Question

We know that some people get fat much easier than others, even they eat the same amount of food and have the same lifestyle. The reason why some people are fatter than others is that our ancestors live in an environment where food supply is very limited and unstable (such as due to cold weather). Their bodies evolved so that excess nutrition is stored as fat, as a survival tool. Now there isn’t such a need for this function so a lot of people has evolved to adapt to the new environment which their bodies do not store excess fat. The conclusion is therefore, fat people evolve slower than thin people.

Answer 1

No, your reasoning is flawed. Actually, people who are heavy have superior fat storing metabolisms that allowed them to live in starving times when others would die.

Some people are heavier than other because of their genetic make-up. There is a case study going on right now in Hawaii where indigenous Hawaiians (who gain massive amounts of weight on a Western diet) are being put on a diet similar to the diet of their ancestors: meats, fish, vegetables, poi. The people on the diet at losing huge quantities of weight.

Native Americans also have the tendency to gain large amounts of weight especially eating starches. It is thought the reason is their genetic make-up evolved over the centuries to utilize meat and plant proteins more than the starches of civilization: bread, potatoes, pasta.

The bodies of indigenous people are better suited to handle each calorie ingested and store fat. Reason being in the old days they had times of starvation and then times of plenty. Their bodies store energy more efficiently.

It is the same with Africans who are fed a Western diet: they ofter gain large amounts of weight too.

http://www.obesityresearch.org/cgi/content/abstract/3/suppl_2/289S

Answer 2

Everything you stated sounds like a good hypothesis, except for the very end. Fat people would not evolve slower than thin people. That makes no sense.

Think about this: evolution happens because certain organisms survive while others don't. and those who survive are able to breed. This is called survival of the fittest, and is part of the modern theory of evolution. Now, today, virtually everyone is "fit" to survive, and so what happens, in this situation (fat people) is that fat people breed with other fat people, producing kids who have a tendency to be fat.

It's all in the genes. Speed of evolution in humans has decreased compared to what it used to be, because well over 95% of people today survive to have kids. The only thing that really causes genetic change in humans today is random mutation.

Answer 3

Many people fail to recognize that evolution by natural selection can only act on a trait in a population which is genetic and therefore able to be inherited, and which either prevents or promotes the reproduction of the individual with that trait. Now, for ancestors who lived in a cold climate, those who stored fat more easily would be better insulated and better able to withstand famine. These people would be more likely to survive to the age of fertility and reproduce. As such, the trait is enriched in the population. In modern times, obese people, and people with much more serious genetic diseases can easily reach the age of reproduction, and can therefore pass on those genes. In this state, which one might say operates in the absence of selection to a great degree, no change in the genetic makeup of the population is expected, as no portion is more or less likely to reproduce. So.....no not true at all.

Note: this only applies to a genetic predisposition to obesity. Anyone can become obese by overeating and getting too little exercise. That situation has nothing to do with evolution at all.

Answer 4

Fat people have not and do not evolve slower than thin people. That is ridiculous! So fat people have lower I.Q.'s or something? Gee evolve slower, well I have not seen to many fat people who are walking on all fours lol. Compare them side by side. they are the same in every way mentally and physically (except for weight) as a thin person.

Answer 5

that is absurd. doesn't work because if you think about it, families exist where the parents are thin and the kids not. If you go back in time, you will find there were less fat people cos most people did some sort of maual labor in terms of employment. Now we sit on our butts and stare at computers and consequently, blimp. according to your logic, we would all have started fat and gradually we would be shrinking. The only ones who are shrinking are the zero models.

Answer 6

Uh... no. Evolution CAN occur quickly, but for the most part it's something that doesn't jump in at an instant's notice. People who are thin eat less and/or exercise more than fat people, that's all there is to it.

Answer 7

That would be a logical deduction, though perhaps not true. I feel that sentence is a bit too sweeping. That would be to say that fat peoples' have not evolved as well as other parts and that simply is not true. Very excellent question, though.

Answer 8

Wow!

So you're saying that fat people aren't evolved??? That's a peculiar, yet funny conclusion to draw! So fat folks are much like bears w/o the hibernating??? :p

Answer 9

dang you're an idiot! My first clue was your spelling, then I read what you have to say, and it was confirmed!
If by "our ancestors" you mean cave people, it was the friggin ice age, it was always cold.
Environment doesn't come into play nearly as much as biology.
As for evolution, our mouths have become smaller, while or butts have become bigger
Your conclusion is flawed
Go out and buy a clue

Answer 10

Usually there metabolism is slower even if they exercise. One man I know seen his doctor about this. This doctor said he would have to cut his calories down to 500 a day for him to lose weight because of his genetics. Most people can lose weight at about 1200 calories.