Obesity, a rare problem in insects
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22201/codeic.16076079e.2020.v21n2.a2Keywords:
evolution, fat, insect, obesity, parasitismAbstract
Obesity is not exclusive from humans and their pets. Wild animals, including insects, can also suffer from this disease. However, the evidence of obesity in insects is scarce and it is not always related to bad feeding habits and low physical activity, but it could be related to parasitism.
Insects bear mechanisms that prevent them from becoming obese and not all of them have the capacity to store big amounts of fat as an energy supply. In humans, in contrast, the ability to store large amounts of fat, which now represents a severe public health issue, could have been beneficial during the evolution of our species. This was due to the extremely high energetic requirements of our big brain in an environmental context where food was not always accessible.
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