Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
PLoS One. 2010 May 12;5(5):e10587. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0010587.
The identification of biological and ecological factors that contribute to obesity may help in combating the spreading obesity crisis. Sex differences in obesity rates are particularly poorly understood. Here we show that the strong female bias in obesity in many countries is associated with high total fertility rate, which is well known to be correlated with factors such as low average income, infant mortality and female education. We also document effects of reduced access to contraception and increased inequality of income among households on obesity rates. These results are consistent with studies that implicate reproduction as a risk factor for obesity in women and that suggest the effects of reproduction interact with socioeconomic and educational factors. We discuss our results in the light of recent research in dietary ecology and the suggestion that insulin resistance during pregnancy is due to historic adaptation to protect the developing foetus during famine. Increased access to contraception and education in countries with high total fertility rate might have the additional benefit of reducing the rates of obesity in women.
确定导致肥胖的生物和生态因素有助于对抗不断蔓延的肥胖危机。肥胖率的性别差异尤其难以理解。在这里，我们表明，许多国家女性肥胖率的严重偏差与高总生育率有关，而众所周知，总生育率与低平均收入、婴儿死亡率和女性教育等因素相关。我们还记录了避孕措施获取减少和家庭收入不平等加剧对肥胖率的影响。这些结果与那些暗示生育是女性肥胖的风险因素的研究一致，并且表明生育的影响与社会经济和教育因素相互作用。我们根据饮食生态学的最新研究以及怀孕期间胰岛素抵抗是由于历史上适应在饥荒期间保护发育中的胎儿的观点来讨论我们的结果。在总生育率较高的国家增加避孕和教育的可及性可能会带来额外的好处，即降低女性肥胖率。
