Brown P J, Konner M
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1987;499:29-46. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1987.tb36195.x.
An anthropological perspective on obesity considers both its evolutionary background and cross-cultural variation. It must explain three basic facts about obesity: gender dimorphism (women greater than men), an increase with modernization, and a positive association with socioeconomic status. Preindustrial diets varied in quality but shared a tendency to periodic shortages. Such shortages, particularly disadvantageous to women in their reproductive years, favored individuals who, for biological and cultural reasons, stored fat. Not surprisingly, the majority of the world's cultures had or have ideals of feminine beauty that include plumpness. This is consistent with the hypothesis that fat stores functioned as a cushion against food shortages during pregnancy and lactation. As obesity has increased, the traditional gap between males and females in its prevalence has narrowed. Under Western conditions of abundance, our biological tendency to regulate body weight at levels above our ideal cannot be easily controlled even with a complete reversal of the widespread cultural ideal of plumpness.
从人类学角度来看，肥胖问题既要考虑其进化背景，也要考虑跨文化差异。它必须解释有关肥胖的三个基本事实：性别差异（女性比男性更易肥胖）、肥胖率随现代化进程上升，以及与社会经济地位呈正相关。工业化前的饮食质量各异，但都有周期性短缺的倾向。这种短缺对处于生育年龄的女性尤为不利，它使得那些出于生理和文化原因储存脂肪的个体更具优势。毫不奇怪，世界上大多数文化过去或现在都有包含丰满在内的女性美观念。这与脂肪储存可作为孕期和哺乳期抵御食物短缺的缓冲这一假设相一致。随着肥胖现象增多，男性和女性在肥胖患病率上的传统差距已缩小。在西方富足的条件下，即便完全扭转普遍存在的丰满文化观念，我们在生物学上倾向于将体重调节到高于理想水平的趋势也难以轻易控制。
