Fat Babies

Fat Babies

Compared with humans, other primates have very little body fat.

One theory which has been advanced is that increased body fat for humans was the result of prolonged involvement with an aquatic environment by an isolated group of our ancestors. There is perhaps a better reason.

Herein it is proposed that during the evolution of the human species, there was a prolonged period during which there were serious annual famines. During this period the gene which causes a baby (and adults) to be fat was first evidenced (expressed).

If indeed this occurred because of repeated annual famines, the fat babies (and the fat adults) would have had a strong selective advantage over thin babies (and adults). There would have been an evolutionary trend favoring an increase in body fat in the group.

During the good times, those individuals which could store extra body fat would have had a clear advantage over those who could not. For babies who had a lot of extra fat, survival during the first critical year would have been much easier than for thin babies when food resources were unreliable.

The ability to gorge and build up fat reserves for lean times would have been critical.

It has been suggested that a few million years ago such a group resided on an elevated island in a river in east Africa. It seems that annual floods occurred isolating the local residents safely above the floods. If so, it might be assumed that when there was no flooding there was an abundance of food such as fresh water clams and that when flooding occurred, say for a few months each year, there was a serious famine.

Once the fat gene became well established in the tribe, there should have been a population explosion. Small groups would then have drifted away from the original site. All would have the great advantage of increased stamina in the face of famine conditions due to their fat reserves.

If this was true, then these hairless, fat clam eaters were our ancestors.

On the other hand, the absence of a migrating or seasonal food source might have been the cause of the annual famines. It is not clear what this seasonal food source might have been (e.g., nesting birds, migrating fish, crabs). Also seasonal fruit, nuts, roots and/or grain might have been a factor. Any way, fat babies are just as cute, if not cuter, than thin ones.

It would be interesting to determine from genetic markers when the fat gene(s) first appeared.

[Also: The need to migrate to seasonal food sources may then have favored the genetic variations which gave rise to the modern human knee structure and gait.]

[Also of interest is the process of adaptation of the brain, vocal cords and the hyoid bone in the throat allowing the creation of human linguistic capabilities. Prior to this, modern speech was not possible. As this capability evolved, there were no doubt early attempts at verbal communication which were, by present day standards, very primitive. The observed vocalizations of other primates seems to be a good guide as to the earliest vowel forms which ultimately evolved into modern human speech.]

Baby Safari.US -- Akilo.Com -- The Snow Water Corporation

2 Hayfields Road, Portola Valley, Ca 94028 -- (800) 872-5244