Thrifty gene hypothesis

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The thrifty gene hypothesis is a hypothesis proposed in 1962 by geneticist James Neel to explain the tendency of certain ethnic groups to tend towards obesity and diabetes.<ref>Neel JV. Diabetes mellitus: a "thrifty" genotype rendered detrimental by "progress"? Am J Hum Genet 1962;14:353-62. PMID 13937884.</ref> It postulates that certain genes in humans have evolved to maximise metabolic efficiency and food searching behaviour, and that in times of abundance these genes predispose their carriers to diseases caused by excess nutritional intake, such as obesity.

It follows from the theory that ethnic groups with a history of food scarcity will have undergone a relatively high evolutionary pressure and hence may harbor more thrifty genes than other populations.

It is often cited alongside the thrifty phenotype hypothesis (or Barker hypothesis)<ref>Hales CN, Barker DJ. Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus: the thrifty phenotype hypothesis. Diabetologia 1992;35:595-601. PMID 1644236.</ref> as an explanation for progressive prevalence of obesity in the Western world.

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