Abstract
A dramatic rise in obesity has occurred among humans within the last several decades. Little is known about whether similar increases in obesity have occurred in animals inhabiting human-influenced environments. We examined samples collectively consisting of over 20 000 animals from 24 populations (12 divided separately into males and females) of animals representing eight species living with or around humans in industrialized societies. In all populations, the estimated coefficient for the trend of body weight over time was positive (i.e. increasing). The probability of all trends being in the same direction by chance is 1.2 × 10-7. Surprisingly, we find that over the past several decades, average mid-life body weights have risen among primates and rodents living in research colonies, as well as among feral rodents and domestic dogs and cats. The consistency of these findings among animals living in varying environments, suggests the intriguing possibility that the aetiology of increasing body weight may involve several as-of-yet unidentified and/or poorly understood factors (e.g. viral pathogens, epigenetic factors). This finding may eventually enhance the discovery and fuller elucidation of other factors that have contributed to the recent rise in obesity rates.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1626-1632 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
| Volume | 278 |
| Issue number | 1712 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 7 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Animals
- Epigenetic
- Obesity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Environmental Science(all)
- Immunology and Microbiology(all)
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Canaries in the coal mine : A cross-species analysis of the plurality of obesity epidemics. / Klimentidis, Yann C; Mark Beasley, T.; Lin, Hui Yi; Murati, Giulianna; Glass, Gregory E.; Guyton, Marcus; Newton, Wendy; Jorgensen, Matthew; Heymsfield, Steven B.; Kemnitz, Joseph; Fairbanks, Lynn; Allison, David B.
In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 278, No. 1712, 07.06.2011, p. 1626-1632.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Canaries in the coal mine
T2 - A cross-species analysis of the plurality of obesity epidemics
AU - Klimentidis, Yann C
AU - Mark Beasley, T.
AU - Lin, Hui Yi
AU - Murati, Giulianna
AU - Glass, Gregory E.
AU - Guyton, Marcus
AU - Newton, Wendy
AU - Jorgensen, Matthew
AU - Heymsfield, Steven B.
AU - Kemnitz, Joseph
AU - Fairbanks, Lynn
AU - Allison, David B.
PY - 2011/6/7
Y1 - 2011/6/7
N2 - A dramatic rise in obesity has occurred among humans within the last several decades. Little is known about whether similar increases in obesity have occurred in animals inhabiting human-influenced environments. We examined samples collectively consisting of over 20 000 animals from 24 populations (12 divided separately into males and females) of animals representing eight species living with or around humans in industrialized societies. In all populations, the estimated coefficient for the trend of body weight over time was positive (i.e. increasing). The probability of all trends being in the same direction by chance is 1.2 × 10-7. Surprisingly, we find that over the past several decades, average mid-life body weights have risen among primates and rodents living in research colonies, as well as among feral rodents and domestic dogs and cats. The consistency of these findings among animals living in varying environments, suggests the intriguing possibility that the aetiology of increasing body weight may involve several as-of-yet unidentified and/or poorly understood factors (e.g. viral pathogens, epigenetic factors). This finding may eventually enhance the discovery and fuller elucidation of other factors that have contributed to the recent rise in obesity rates.
AB - A dramatic rise in obesity has occurred among humans within the last several decades. Little is known about whether similar increases in obesity have occurred in animals inhabiting human-influenced environments. We examined samples collectively consisting of over 20 000 animals from 24 populations (12 divided separately into males and females) of animals representing eight species living with or around humans in industrialized societies. In all populations, the estimated coefficient for the trend of body weight over time was positive (i.e. increasing). The probability of all trends being in the same direction by chance is 1.2 × 10-7. Surprisingly, we find that over the past several decades, average mid-life body weights have risen among primates and rodents living in research colonies, as well as among feral rodents and domestic dogs and cats. The consistency of these findings among animals living in varying environments, suggests the intriguing possibility that the aetiology of increasing body weight may involve several as-of-yet unidentified and/or poorly understood factors (e.g. viral pathogens, epigenetic factors). This finding may eventually enhance the discovery and fuller elucidation of other factors that have contributed to the recent rise in obesity rates.
KW - Animals
KW - Epigenetic
KW - Obesity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79955378057&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79955378057&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2010.1890
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2010.1890
M3 - Article
C2 - 21106594
AN - SCOPUS:79955378057
VL - 278
SP - 1626
EP - 1632
JO - Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological sciences
JF - Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological sciences
SN - 0962-8436
IS - 1712
ER -