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Article

Thrifty genes for obesity, an attractive but flawed idea, and an alternative perspective: the 'drifty gene' hypothesis.

International journal of obesity (2005) - 1 Nov 2008

Speakman J R

Abstract excerpt

Almost 50 years ago Neel proposed a hypothesis to explain the prevalence of obesity and diabetes in modern society--the 'thrifty gene' hypothesis. The fundamental basis of the hypothesis was that, in our early evolutionary history, genes, that promoted efficient fat deposition would have been advantageous because they allowed their holders to survive at periods of famine. In modern society, such genes are...

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Source

Identifiers

PMID: 18852699
DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2008.161

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PubMed metadata and Literature Corpus relationships. Corpus snapshot updated 7 Sept 2026. Manifest publication-graph-cohort-2026-09-08.1.

Source receipt: pubmed, retrieved 7 Sept 2026.

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