Impact of energy availability and physical activity on variation in fertility across human populations.

ABSTRACT: Human reproduction is energetically costly, even more so than other primates. In this review, we consider how the energy cost of physical activity impacts reproductive tasks. Daily energy expenditure appears to be constrained, leading to trade-offs between activity and reproduction expenditures in physically active populations. High workloads can lead to suppression of basal metabolic rate and low gestational weight gain during pregnancy and longer interbirth intervals. These responses lead to variation in fertility, including age at first reproduction and interbirth interval. The influence of energetics is evident even in industrialized populations, where cultural and economic factors predominate. With the decoupling of skills acquisition from food procurement, extrasomatic resources and

SUBMITTER: Sadhir S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9951524 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature