The quantitative approach: Brain development and nutrition can be considered quantitatively (energy) and qualitatively (micronutrients). The brain needs energy and micronutrients. The exceptionally high-energy consumption of the brain has led to the hypothesis that improving the energy supply through new animal-based foods has favored brain growth. An increase in energy supply should result in an increase in body weight.If you plot the increase in body weight from two million years ago to today, there is a relatively good correlation with brain growth. The “survival of the fattest” theory takes the thick layer of fat on newborns as a reason for the accumulation of fat (and thus weight) being an essential basis for survival and brain development. However, the proponents of this hypothesis overlook the fact that body weight is not only the result of increasing fat mass due to excessive energy intake but primarily of muscle mass due to continuous movement. When it comes to body weight and thus also to the so-called obesity pandemic, genetics and, again, evolution play a unique role here. If a mother is malnourished during pregnancy, the developing child receives something like a weather report before birth, which says that food is scarce out there. As a result, the fat absorption and storage genes are set up so that as much as possible is absorbed and stored. This type is called a good food converter. This change in gene activity is caused by epigenetics, which can increase or decrease the activity of proteins (e.g., enzymes) formed by the genes through slight changes in the DNA. Various famines in the recent past have shown that children of malnourished mothers are significantly more likely to be overweight than those of sufficiently nourished pregnant women. Such so-called thrifty genes also play a role in modern humans and can contribute to obesity. A unique feature in regulating body weight is the brown adipose tissue, which can be found in various body regions. Adipose tissue protects sensitive organs, such as the kidneys, from the cold by producing heat. Energy is lost through heat production, so despite a positive energy balance, body weight does not increase (poor food converter). Here, too, evolution shows us how natural selection favors a type that forms brown adipose tissue or does not do so, even if this results in a disadvantage: Individuals with a mutation in the gene for a hormone (BDNF), which, among other things, regulates neurogenesis in the hippocampus and thus the diverse functions in dealing with the environment. These genetic changes exist in 20–25% of Europeans and 40–50% of Asians. In sub-Saharan Africa, on the other hand, it is only 0.55%. The disadvantage of these genetic changes is that those affected may have a risk of schizophrenia and other mental ilnesses. But why does a so-called genomic trade-off occur? Natural selection selects genes that have something to do with survival and reproduction, even if this can have a disadvantage. Carriers of this modified BDNF gene form significantly less brown adipose tissue than those who do not have this gene. The advantage for carriers of the gene: during the migrations—out of Africa, which had an uncertain food supply—they were better able to store white fat as an energy source and did not lose any energy through the activity of brown adipose tissue. The ability to store white fat better is analogous to the children of malnourished mothers, who also produce less brown adipose tissue to store white fat as energy. Consequently, this genetic change has spread much more outside of Africa. Those who remained in Africa did not have to worry too much about food availability and could, therefore, afford to develop brown adipose tissue as a regulator of their energy balance. The qualitative approach: While the basis for the quantitative approach of nutrition in relation to brain development is the relationship between body weight and brain volume, the qualitative approach is a relationship between height and brain volume. A deviation of more than 2 standard deviations from a population’s mean height is considered short stature. In children, this is also referred to as stunting. Stunting also often results in impaired cognitive development. Unless it is genetic (pygmies), short stature results from qualitative malnutrition; comparing the development of our ancestors’ body length with the increase in brain volume provides a much better correlation than comparing it with body weight. This correlation means, however, that brain development was favored less by the energy supplied and much more by the sufficient amount of micronutrients. The relationship between short body length and reduced life expectancy also shows that short body length indicates what is known as nutritional poverty.

Diet and Brain Development and the Importance for Modern Man

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发表日期：

2026年

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Hans Konrad Biesalski

摘要

The quantitative approach: Brain development and nutrition can be considered quantitatively (energy) and qualitatively (micronutrients). The brain needs energy and micronutrients. The exceptionally high-energy consumption of the brain has led to the hypothesis that improving the energy supply through new animal-based foods has favored brain growth. An increase in energy supply should result in an increase in body weight.If you plot the increase in body weight from two million years ago to today, there is a relatively good correlation with brain growth. The “survival of the fattest” theory takes the thick layer of fat on newborns as a reason for the accumulation of fat (and thus weight) being an essential basis for survival and brain development. However, the proponents of this hypothesis overlook the fact that body weight is not only the result of increasing fat mass due to excessive energy intake but primarily of muscle mass due to continuous movement. When it comes to body weight and thus also to the so-called obesity pandemic, genetics and, again, evolution play a unique role here. If a mother is malnourished during pregnancy, the developing child receives something like a weather report before birth, which says that food is scarce out there. As a result, the fat absorption and storage genes are set up so that as much as possible is absorbed and stored. This type is called a good food converter. This change in gene activity is caused by epigenetics, which can increase or decrease the activity of proteins (e.g., enzymes) formed by the genes through slight changes in the DNA. Various famines in the recent past have shown that children of malnourished mothers are significantly more likely to be overweight than those of sufficiently nourished pregnant women. Such so-called thrifty genes also play a role in modern humans and can contribute to obesity. A unique feature in regulating body weight is the brown adipose tissue, which can be found in various body regions. Adipose tissue protects sensitive organs, such as the kidneys, from the cold by producing heat. Energy is lost through heat production, so despite a positive energy balance, body weight does not increase (poor food converter). Here, too, evolution shows us how natural selection favors a type that forms brown adipose tissue or does not do so, even if this results in a disadvantage: Individuals with a mutation in the gene for a hormone (BDNF), which, among other things, regulates neurogenesis in the hippocampus and thus the diverse functions in dealing with the environment. These genetic changes exist in 20–25% of Europeans and 40–50% of Asians. In sub-Saharan Africa, on the other hand, it is only 0.55%. The disadvantage of these genetic changes is that those affected may have a risk of schizophrenia and other mental ilnesses. But why does a so-called genomic trade-off occur? Natural selection selects genes that have something to do with survival and reproduction, even if this can have a disadvantage. Carriers of this modified BDNF gene form significantly less brown adipose tissue than those who do not have this gene. The advantage for carriers of the gene: during the migrations—out of Africa, which had an uncertain food supply—they were better able to store white fat as an energy source and did not lose any energy through the activity of brown adipose tissue. The ability to store white fat better is analogous to the children of malnourished mothers, who also produce less brown adipose tissue to store white fat as energy. Consequently, this genetic change has spread much more outside of Africa. Those who remained in Africa did not have to worry too much about food availability and could, therefore, afford to develop brown adipose tissue as a regulator of their energy balance. The qualitative approach: While the basis for the quantitative approach of nutrition in relation to brain development is the relationship between body weight and brain volume, the qualitative approach is a relationship between height and brain volume. A deviation of more than 2 standard deviations from a population’s mean height is considered short stature. In children, this is also referred to as stunting. Stunting also often results in impaired cognitive development. Unless it is genetic (pygmies), short stature results from qualitative malnutrition; comparing the development of our ancestors’ body length with the increase in brain volume provides a much better correlation than comparing it with body weight. This correlation means, however, that brain development was favored less by the energy supplied and much more by the sufficient amount of micronutrients. The relationship between short body length and reduced life expectancy also shows that short body length indicates what is known as nutritional poverty.