Is obesity an advantageous adaptation?

Abstract

It is undisputed that modern man is becoming fatter and the extreme expression of increased adiposity 'simple' obesity is becoming more common. Tanner & Whitehouse for example reported that average skinfold thickness in British school children increased by one standard deviation over a 25-year period. What are unclear are the main reasons for this change. In this 'Viewpoint' I will examine--I hope not too contentiously--evidence that this increased level of human adiposity associated with 'Westernisation' reflects an evolutionary adaptation to 'modern' food, particularly the refined carbohydrates, and is not simply a metabolic or behavioural ' disorder' as is commonly assumed. Some 'treatments', including some perhaps based on behavioural assumptions, have been described by Hirsch as equivalent to 'beating the insane to keep them quiet.