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Expanding the insurance hypothesis of obesity with physiological cues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2017

Aaron D. Blackwell
Aaron D. Blackwell*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3210. blackwell@anth.ucsb.edu www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/blackwell
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Abstract

Food insecurity relates to fat storage, but cannot explain fat storage in excess of levels optimal for buffering – that is, obesity. However, factors related to food unpredictability in the past, including stress, disease, micronutrient content of food, and physical activity, may cue physiological processes that change intake or fat deposition even in the absence of actual food unpredictability.

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Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e108
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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