Human eating behaviour in an evolutionary ecological context

Ulijaszek, Stanley J.

doi:10.1079/pns2002180

Cited by 68 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Dental topographic analysis suggested that successive Homo species emphasised more on tougher and elastic foods, perhaps including meat (191) . The latter suggestion is in line with the optimal foraging theory, which states that humans prefer foods with high energy density over those with low energy density (192,193) .…”

Section: Comparative Anatomysupporting

confidence: 81%

A multidisciplinary reconstruction of Palaeolithic nutrition that holds promise for the prevention and treatment of diseases of civilisation

2012

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Evolutionary medicine acknowledges that many chronic degenerative diseases result from conflicts between our rapidly changing environment, our dietary habits included, and our genome, which has remained virtually unchanged since the Palaeolithic era. Reconstruction of the diet before the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions is therefore indicated, but hampered by the ongoing debate on our ancestors' ecological niche. Arguments and their counterarguments regarding evolutionary medicine are updated and the evidence for the long-reigning hypothesis of human evolution on the arid savanna is weighed against the hypothesis that man evolved in the proximity of water. Evidence from various disciplines is discussed, including the study of palaeo-environments, comparative anatomy, biogeochemistry, archaeology, anthropology, (patho)physiology and epidemiology. Although our ancestors had much lower life expectancies, the current evidence does neither support the misconception that during the Palaeolithic there were no elderly nor that they had poor health. Rather than rejecting the possibility of ‘healthy ageing’, the default assumption should be that healthy ageing posed an evolutionary advantage for human survival. There is ample evidence that our ancestors lived in a land–water ecosystem and extracted a substantial part of their diets from both terrestrial and aquatic resources. Rather than rejecting this possibility by lack of evidence, the default assumption should be that hominins, living in coastal ecosystems with catchable aquatic resources, consumed these resources. Finally, the composition and merits of so-called ‘Palaeolithic diets’, based on different hominin niche-reconstructions, are evaluated. The benefits of these diets illustrate that it is time to incorporate this knowledge into dietary recommendations.

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Section: Comparative Anatomysupporting

confidence: 81%

A multidisciplinary reconstruction of Palaeolithic nutrition that holds promise for the prevention and treatment of diseases of civilisation

2012

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“…Under a PR schedule, the cost of a reward is progressively increased over successive trials, to determine the effort the rat will emit for it. The response requirement increased according to the following equation 19,20,27 : response ratio ¼ (5e(0.2 Â infusion number)) -5 through the following series: 1,2,4,9,12,15,20,25,32,40,50,62,77,95,118,145,178,219,268,328,402,492,603, 737. The session ended when the rat had failed to earn a reward within 60 min.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been postulated that the ability to overconsume high-energy dense foods (in the face of plentiful food availability) was selected during evolution. Thus, under conditions when food availability is uncertain and scarce, consuming highenergy dense foods is an adequate adaptation (for a review see Ulijazek 4 ). Furthermore, children and adults have preferences for foods associated with fat and sugar, 5,6 and the increased intake of saturated fat and sugar-based beverages has been linked to obesity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A reciprocal interaction between food-motivated behavior and diet-induced obesity

et al. 2007

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Objectives: One of the main causes of obesity is overconsumption of diets high in fat and sugar. We studied the metabolic changes and food-motivated behavior when rats were subjected to a choice diet with chow, lard and a 30% sucrose solution (high fat high sugar (HFHS)-choice diet). Because rats showed considerable variations in the feeding response to HFHS-choice diet and in food-motivated behavior, we investigated whether the motivation to obtain a sucrose reward correlated with the development of obesity when rats were subsequently subjected to HFHS-choice diet. Method: We first studied feeding, locomotor activity and body temperature, fat weights and hormonal concentrations when male Wistar rats were subjected to HFHS-choice diet for 1 week. Second, we studied sucrose-motivated behavior, using a progressive ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement in rats that were subjected to the HFHS-choice diet for at least 2 weeks, compared to control rats on a chow diet. Third, we measured motivation for sucrose under a PR schedule of reinforcement in rats that were subsequently subjected to HFHS-choice diet or a chow diet for 4 weeks. Fat weights were measured and correlated with the motivation to obtain sucrose pellets. Results: One week on the HFHS-choice diet increased plasma concentrations of glucose and leptin, increased fat stores, but did not alter body temperature or locomotor activity. Moreover, consuming the HFHS-choice diet for several weeks increased the motivation to work for sucrose pellets. Furthermore, the motivation to obtain sucrose pellets correlated positively with abdominal fat stores in rats subsequently subjected to the HFHS-choice diet, whereas this correlation was not found in rats fed on a chow diet. Conclusion: Our data suggest that the motivation to respond for palatable food correlates with obesity due to an obesogenic environment. Conversely, the HFHS-choice diet, which results in obesity, also increased the motivation to work for sucrose. Thus, being motivated to work for sucrose results in obesity, which, in turn, increases food-motivated behavior, resulting in a vicious circle of food motivation and obesity. IntroductionObesity is one of the fastest growing medical problems in modern society. It contributes to the development of chronic disorders such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers. 1 For healthy body weight regulation, it is important to balance energy intake and energy expenditure. Modern society, however, is characterized by a sedentary lifestyle and a calorie intake, which is not adjusted for that. Although regulatory mechanisms that balance intake and expenditure are known , 2,3 it still remains unclear why this fails in obese individuals. It has been postulated that the ability to overconsume high-energy dense foods (in the face of plentiful food availability) was selected during evolution. Thus, under conditions when food availability is uncertain and scarce, consuming highenergy dense foods is an adequate adaptation (for a review see Uli...

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“…Indeed, palatability, derived from high levels of sugar and fat, is the most important (aside from the energy need) factor determining the amount of consumed food (Berthoud, 2004a). This is perhaps to encourage ingestion of scarce (at the earlier stages of evolution) high-energy content foods (Ulijaszek, 2002;Kelley, 2004b), and to secure steady supply of sugar, which is the primary energy source throughout the central nervous system that is neither stored nor produced there. …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Intake and Reward Mechanisms in Patients with Schizophrenia: Implications for Metabolic Disturbances and Treatment with Second-Generation Antipsychotic Agents

Elman

Borsook

Lukas

2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

138

142

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Obesity is highly prevalent among patients with schizophrenia and is associated with detrimental health consequences. Although excessive consumption of fast food and pharmacotherapy with such second-generation antipsychotic agents (SGAs) as clozapine and olanzapine has been implicated in the schizophrenia/obesity comorbidity, the pathophysiology of this link remains unclear. Here, we propose a mechanism based on brain reward function, a relevant etiologic factor in both schizophrenia and overeating. A comprehensive literature search on neurobiology of schizophrenia and of eating behavior was performed. The collected articles were critically reviewed and relevant data were extracted and summarized within four key areas: (1) energy homeostasis, (2) food reward and hedonics, (3) reward function in schizophrenia, and (4) metabolic effects of the SGAs. A mesolimbic hyperdopaminergic state may render motivational/incentive reward system insensitive to low salience/palatability food. This, together with poor cognitive control from hypofunctional prefrontal cortex and enhanced hedonic impact of food, owing to exaggerated opioidergic drive (clinically manifested as pain insensitivity), may underlie unhealthy eating habits in patients with schizophrenia. Treatment with SGAs purportedly improves dopamine-mediated reward aspects, but at the cost of increased appetite and worsened or at least not improved opiodergic capacity. These effects can further deteriorate eating patterns. Pathophysiological and therapeutic implications of these insights need further validation via prospective clinical trials and neuroimaging studies. INTRODUCTIONObesity has reached pandemic proportions and it is rapidly surpassing smoking as a number one killer in the industrialized world (Sturm, 2002;Skidmore and Yarnell, 2004). Its annual cost to the American society is staggering, and is estimated to be around $117 billion owing to related illnesses and loss of productivity (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 2005).In schizophrenia, obesity is twice as prevalent as in the general public, afflicting over half this patient population (Allison et al, 1999a;Dixon et al, 2000; American Diabetes Association, 2004;Marder et al, 2004;Wirshing, 2004). Besides negative psychosocial impacts (distorted selfesteem and societal stigmatization) and medications noncompliance, schizophrenics appear to be particularly susceptible to the detrimental medical sequelae of obesity such as the 'Metabolic Syndrome', which is a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors, including abdominal adiposity, insulin resistance, impaired, glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension (McKee et al, 1986;Mukherjee et al, 1996;Brown et al, 2000;Haupt and Newcomer, 2002;Ryan and Thakore, 2002;Ryan et al, 2003;Holt et al, 2004;Kohen, 2004;Marder et al, 2004;Lieberman et al, 2005).Excessive body weight gain (BWG) could be attributed to a constellation of endocrine, molecular, genetic, demographic, and lifestyle-related factors. Provided that a common tra...

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Human eating behaviour in an evolutionary ecological context

Cited by 68 publications

References 58 publications

A multidisciplinary reconstruction of Palaeolithic nutrition that holds promise for the prevention and treatment of diseases of civilisation

A multidisciplinary reconstruction of Palaeolithic nutrition that holds promise for the prevention and treatment of diseases of civilisation

A reciprocal interaction between food-motivated behavior and diet-induced obesity

Food Intake and Reward Mechanisms in Patients with Schizophrenia: Implications for Metabolic Disturbances and Treatment with Second-Generation Antipsychotic Agents

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