Worldwide increase of obesity is related to the reduced opportunity for natural selection

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dc.contributor.authorBudnik, A.
dc.contributor.authorHenneberg, M.
dc.contributor.editorRosenfeld, C.
dc.date.issued2017
dc.descriptionPublished: January 20, 2017
dc.description.abstractWorldwide rise of obesity may be partly related to the relaxation of natural selection in the last few generations. Accumulation of mutations affecting metabolism towards excessive fat deposition is suggested to be a result of less purging selection. Using the WHO and UN data for 159 countries there is a significant correlation (r = 0.60, p<0.01) between an index of the relaxed opportunity for selection (Biological State Index) and prevalence of obesity (percentage of individuals with BMI >30kg/m2). This correlation remains significant (r = 0.32., p<0.01) when caloric intake and insufficient physical activity prevalence are kept statistically constant (partial correlation analysis, N = 82). The correlation is still significant when gross domestic product per capita is also kept constant (r = 0.24, p <0.05, N = 81). In the last decades, prevalence of both obesity and underweight has increased in some countries despite no change in caloric intake nor in physical inactivity prevalence. Relaxed selection against genes affecting energy balance and metabolism may contribute to the increase of fatness independent from commonly considered positive energy balance. Diagnoses of individual predispositions to obesity at an early age and individual counselling on diet and behaviour may be appropriate strategies to limit further increases in body mass.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityAlicja Budnik, Maciej Henneberg
dc.identifier.citationPLoS One, 2017; 12(1):e0170098-1-e0170098-11
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0170098
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.orcidHenneberg, M. [0000-0003-1941-2286]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/104082
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science (PLoS)
dc.rights© 2017 Budnik, Henneberg. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170098
dc.subjectHumans
dc.subjectObesity
dc.subjectExercise
dc.subjectEnergy Metabolism
dc.subjectEnergy Intake
dc.subjectMutation
dc.subjectFemale
dc.subjectMale
dc.subjectSelection, Genetic
dc.subjectGlobal Health
dc.titleWorldwide increase of obesity is related to the reduced opportunity for natural selection
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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