Abstract
Evolutionary biologists classify theories of menopause as either: 1) adaptive, suggesting that female reproductive cessation results from its selective advantage, in that the increased risk of personal reproduction late in life makes it biologically more advantageous to rechannel reproductive energy into helping existing descendents, or 2) nonadaptive, indicating menopause is an artifact of the relatively recent dramatic increase in human longevity. With the possible exception of pilot whales, no mammals studied to date are known to commonly exhibit reproductive cessation in nature. To demonstrate adaptive menopause, one would need to establish both that the longevity of preagricultural humans commonly allowed them to exhibit menopause, and that postreproductive females could assist their descendents sufficiently to compensate for the loss of personal reproduction. The data on longevity of preagricultural humans with respect to the adaptive menopause hypothesis are mixed. Evolutionary models evaluated with data from modern hunting-gathering or agricultural humans fail to find that humans can assist their descendents sufficiently to offset the evolutionary cost of ceasing reproduction. However, assuming the human body has been physiologically adapted to the conditions extant during the vast majority of human history, it may be well worth pursuing how the signs and symptoms of menopause are affected by dietary, exercise, and reproductive hormone regimes mimicking those of the late Paleolithic era.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 255-263 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Experimental Gerontology |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 3-4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1994 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- adaptive evolution
- anthropological demography
- evolution of menopause
- mammalian reproductive cessation
- paleodemography
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Aging
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Menopause : An evolutionary perspective. / Austad, Steven N.
In: Experimental Gerontology, Vol. 29, No. 3-4, 1994, p. 255-263.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Menopause
T2 - An evolutionary perspective
AU - Austad, Steven N.
PY - 1994
Y1 - 1994
N2 - Evolutionary biologists classify theories of menopause as either: 1) adaptive, suggesting that female reproductive cessation results from its selective advantage, in that the increased risk of personal reproduction late in life makes it biologically more advantageous to rechannel reproductive energy into helping existing descendents, or 2) nonadaptive, indicating menopause is an artifact of the relatively recent dramatic increase in human longevity. With the possible exception of pilot whales, no mammals studied to date are known to commonly exhibit reproductive cessation in nature. To demonstrate adaptive menopause, one would need to establish both that the longevity of preagricultural humans commonly allowed them to exhibit menopause, and that postreproductive females could assist their descendents sufficiently to compensate for the loss of personal reproduction. The data on longevity of preagricultural humans with respect to the adaptive menopause hypothesis are mixed. Evolutionary models evaluated with data from modern hunting-gathering or agricultural humans fail to find that humans can assist their descendents sufficiently to offset the evolutionary cost of ceasing reproduction. However, assuming the human body has been physiologically adapted to the conditions extant during the vast majority of human history, it may be well worth pursuing how the signs and symptoms of menopause are affected by dietary, exercise, and reproductive hormone regimes mimicking those of the late Paleolithic era.
AB - Evolutionary biologists classify theories of menopause as either: 1) adaptive, suggesting that female reproductive cessation results from its selective advantage, in that the increased risk of personal reproduction late in life makes it biologically more advantageous to rechannel reproductive energy into helping existing descendents, or 2) nonadaptive, indicating menopause is an artifact of the relatively recent dramatic increase in human longevity. With the possible exception of pilot whales, no mammals studied to date are known to commonly exhibit reproductive cessation in nature. To demonstrate adaptive menopause, one would need to establish both that the longevity of preagricultural humans commonly allowed them to exhibit menopause, and that postreproductive females could assist their descendents sufficiently to compensate for the loss of personal reproduction. The data on longevity of preagricultural humans with respect to the adaptive menopause hypothesis are mixed. Evolutionary models evaluated with data from modern hunting-gathering or agricultural humans fail to find that humans can assist their descendents sufficiently to offset the evolutionary cost of ceasing reproduction. However, assuming the human body has been physiologically adapted to the conditions extant during the vast majority of human history, it may be well worth pursuing how the signs and symptoms of menopause are affected by dietary, exercise, and reproductive hormone regimes mimicking those of the late Paleolithic era.
KW - adaptive evolution
KW - anthropological demography
KW - evolution of menopause
KW - mammalian reproductive cessation
KW - paleodemography
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0028303235&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0028303235&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0531-5565(94)90005-1
DO - 10.1016/0531-5565(94)90005-1
M3 - Article
VL - 29
SP - 255
EP - 263
JO - Experimental Gerontology
JF - Experimental Gerontology
SN - 0531-5565
IS - 3-4
ER -