Maybe humans evolved to be more efficient than the great apes in storing energy as fat. It seems that famine was a much bigger concern for us than our jungle relatives since we decided to move out of africa..maybe it sounds simplistic but that comes to mind. Great article anyway, cheers
Yes, this is actually true - great apes in zoos do not get fat, although they do get noticeably (~20-33%) bigger than wild great apes due to more and higher quality calories and less activity. It's mainly bigger muscles and organs rather than body fat.
Humans got equipped with the ability / inclination to add more fat because we were in spottier and more diverse environments, and here we are today!
But you know, we're supposed to be 98% the same genetically as chimps - let's get to work on that chimp splice!
Maybe humans evolved to be more efficient than the great apes in storing energy as fat. It seems that famine was a much bigger concern for us than our jungle relatives since we decided to move out of africa..maybe it sounds simplistic but that comes to mind. Great article anyway, cheers
Yes, this is actually true - great apes in zoos do not get fat, although they do get noticeably (~20-33%) bigger than wild great apes due to more and higher quality calories and less activity. It's mainly bigger muscles and organs rather than body fat.
Humans got equipped with the ability / inclination to add more fat because we were in spottier and more diverse environments, and here we are today!
But you know, we're supposed to be 98% the same genetically as chimps - let's get to work on that chimp splice!