Ancient famine-fighting genes can't explain obesity
Scientists look beyond calorie-hoarding genes to understand widening waistlines
ANCIENT GENES, MODERN MEALS Research is starting to poke holes in the hypothesis that calorie-hoarding genes are causing the obesity crisis.
Cade Martin
The obesity crisis has given prehistoric dining a stardom not known since Fred Flintstone introduced the Bronto Burger. Last year, “Paleo diet” topped the list of most-Googled weight loss searches, as modern Stone Age dieters sought the advice of bestsellers like The Paleo Solution or The Primal Blueprint, which encourages followers to “honor your primal genes.”
The assumption is that America has a weight problem because human metabolism runs on ancient genes that are ill equipped for contemporary eating habits. In this line of thinking, a diet true to the hunter-gatherers we once were — heavy on protein, light on carbs — will make us skinny again. While the fad has attracted skepticism from those who don’t buy the idea whole hog, there’s still plenty of acceptance for one common premise about the evolution of obesity: Our bodies want to stockpile fat.
For most of human history, the theory goes, hunter
