Obesity in lab animals? Is he serious? They don't exercise live in cage 100-1000 time smaller than their natural habitats, are under terrible stress - need i go on?
On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 7:23 PM, Skylar Bayer <skyla...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello Ecolog-L, > I recently read this article about the trends of obesity world-wide. One of > the points the author makes, > > "But such results don’t explain why the weight gain is also occurring in > species that human beings don’t pamper, such as animals in labs, whose > diets are strictly controlled. In fact, lab animals’ lives are so precisely > watched and measured that the researchers can rule out accidental human > influence: records show those creatures gained weight over decades without > any significant change in their diet or activities. Obviously, if animals > are getting heavier along with us, it can’t just be that they’re eating > more Snickers bars and driving to work most days. On the contrary, the > trend suggests some widely shared cause, beyond the control of individuals, > which is contributing to obesity across many species." > > He refers to lab animals in this statement, but he mentions industrial > chemicals and BPAs that get into the environment (more than just urban > areas, I presume) and other viruses and bacteria that may relate to weight > gain/loss. > > My question is, has anyone here on this listserv, or know of anyone doing > long term ecological studies on mammals or other vertebrates where weights > are recorded? > > > I am curious if these kinds of compounds, which must be leaked into certain > systems, at the very least, have the same kind of "obesogen" effect on > ecosystems outside an urban center. > > I'd love to hear what any of you think about the matter. > > The article: > http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/david-berreby-obesity-era/ > > Thanks! > Skylar > > -- > Skylar Bayer > University of Maine > School of Marine Sciences > Graduate Student of Marine Biology > > Darling Marine Center > 193 Clark's Cove Road > Walpole, ME 04573 > skylar.ba...@maine.edu > -- Hilit Finkler PhD Zoology and urban ecology Tel Aviv University Israel
