Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA.
Child and Brain Development Program, CIFAR, Toronto, Canada.
Am J Biol Anthropol. 2023 Aug;181 Suppl 76:94-117. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24719. Epub 2023 Mar 3.
How organisms capture and ultimately use metabolic energy-a limiting resource of life-has profound implications for understanding evolutionary legacies and current patterns of phenotypic variation, adaptation, and health. Energetics research among humans has a rich history in biological anthropology and beyond. The energetics of childhood, however, remains relatively underexplored. This shortcoming is notable given the accepted importance of childhood in the evolution of the unique human life history pattern as well as the known sensitivity of childhood development to local environments and lived experiences. In this review, I have three objectives: (1) To overview current knowledge regarding how children acquire and use energy, highlighting work among diverse human populations and pointing to recent advances and remaining areas of uncertainty; (2) To discuss key applications of this knowledge for understanding human variation, evolution, and health; (3) To recommend future avenues for research. A growing body of evidence supports a model of trade-offs and constraint in childhood energy expenditure. This model, combined with advancements on topics such as the energetics of immune activity, the brain, and the gut, provides insights into the evolution of extended human subadulthood and the nature of variation in childhood development, lifetime phenotype, and health.
生物体如何捕获并最终利用代谢能——生命的一种有限资源——对于理解进化遗产和当前表型变异、适应和健康的模式具有深远的意义。人类的能量学研究在生物人类学及其他领域有着悠久的历史。然而，儿童时期的能量学仍然相对未被充分探索。鉴于儿童在独特的人类生活史模式的进化中被普遍认为具有重要性，以及儿童发展对当地环境和生活经历的敏感性是众所周知的，这一不足之处值得注意。在这篇综述中，我有三个目标：（1）概述当前关于儿童获取和利用能量的知识，重点介绍不同人类群体的研究，并指出最近的进展和仍存在不确定性的领域；（2）讨论这些知识在理解人类变异、进化和健康方面的关键应用；（3）推荐未来的研究方向。越来越多的证据支持儿童能量支出存在权衡和限制的模型。该模型与诸如免疫活动、大脑和肠道的能量学等主题的进展相结合，为理解人类未成年期的延长以及儿童发展、终生表型和健康方面的变异的本质提供了新的视角。
