Variability in energy expenditure is much greater in males than females

Lewis G. Halsey; Vincent Careau; Herman Pontzer; Philip N. Ainslie; Lene F. Andersen; Liam J. Anderson; Lenore Arab; Issad Baddou; Kweku Bedu-Addo; Ellen E. Blaak; Stephane Blanc; Alberto G. Bonomi; Carlijn V. C. Bouten; Pascal Bovet; Maciej S. Buchowski; Nancy F. Butte; Stefan G. J. A. Camps; Graeme L. Close; Jamie A. Cooper; Sai Krupa Das; Richard Cooper; Lara R. Dugas; Ulf Ekelund; Sonja Entringer; Terrence Forrester; Barry W. Fudge; Annelies H. Goris; Michael Gurven; Catherine Hambly; Asmaa El Hamdouchi; Marije B. Hoos; Sumei Hu; Noorjehan Joonas; Annemiek M. Joosen; Peter Katzmarzyk; Kitty P. Kempen; Misaka Kimura; William E. Kraus; Robert F. Kushner; Estelle Lambert; William R. Leonard; Nader Lessan; Corby K. Martin; Anine C. Medin; Erwin P. Meijer; James C. Morehen; James P. Morton; Marian L. Neuhouser; Theresa A. Nicklas; Robert M. Ojiambo; Kirsi H. Pietilainen; Yannis P. Pitsiladis; Jacob Plange-Rhule; Guy Plasqui; Ross L. Prentice; Roberto A. Rabinovich; Susan B. Racette; David A. Raichlen; Eric Ravussin; Rebecca M. Reynolds; Susan B. Roberts; Albertine J. Schuit; Anders M. Sjodin; Eric Stice; Samuel S. Urlacher; Giulio Valenti; Ludo M. Van Etten; Edgar A. Van Mil; George Wilson; Brian M. Wood; Jack Yanovski; Tsukasa Yoshida; Xueying Zhang; Alexia J. Murphy-Alford; Cornelia U. Loechl; Amy H. Luke; Jennifer Rood; Hiroyuki Sagayama; Dale A. Schoeller; Klaas R. Westerterp; William W. Wong; Yosuke Yamada; John R. Speakman

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103229

Variability in energy expenditure is much greater in males than females

Lewis G. Halsey^*, Vincent Careau, Herman Pontzer^*, Philip N. Ainslie, Lene F. Andersen, Liam J. Anderson, Lenore Arab, Issad Baddou, Kweku Bedu-Addo, Ellen E. Blaak, Stephane Blanc, Alberto G. Bonomi, Carlijn V. C. Bouten, Pascal Bovet, Maciej S. Buchowski, Nancy F. Butte, Stefan G. J. A. Camps, Graeme L. Close, Jamie A. Cooper, Sai Krupa DasRichard Cooper, Lara R. Dugas, Ulf Ekelund, Sonja Entringer, Terrence Forrester, Barry W. Fudge, Annelies H. Goris, Michael Gurven, Catherine Hambly, Asmaa El Hamdouchi, Marije B. Hoos, Sumei Hu, Noorjehan Joonas, Annemiek M. Joosen, Peter Katzmarzyk, Kitty P. Kempen, Misaka Kimura, William E. Kraus, Robert F. Kushner, Estelle Lambert, William R. Leonard, Nader Lessan, Corby K. Martin, Anine C. Medin, Erwin P. Meijer, James C. Morehen, James P. Morton, Marian L. Neuhouser, Theresa A. Nicklas, Robert M. Ojiambo, Kirsi H. Pietilainen, Yannis P. Pitsiladis, Jacob Plange-Rhule, Guy Plasqui, Ross L. Prentice, Roberto A. Rabinovich, Susan B. Racette, David A. Raichlen, Eric Ravussin, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Susan B. Roberts, Albertine J. Schuit, Anders M. Sjodin, Eric Stice, Samuel S. Urlacher, Giulio Valenti, Ludo M. Van Etten, Edgar A. Van Mil, George Wilson, Brian M. Wood, Jack Yanovski, Tsukasa Yoshida, Xueying Zhang, Alexia J. Murphy-Alford, Cornelia U. Loechl, Amy H. Luke, Jennifer Rood, Hiroyuki Sagayama, Dale A. Schoeller, Klaas R. Westerterp, William W. Wong, Yosuke Yamada, John R. Speakman

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In mammals, trait variation is often reported to be greater among males than females. However, to date, mainly only morphological traits have been studied. Energy expenditure represents the metabolic costs of multiple physical, physiological, and behavioral traits. Energy expenditure could exhibit particularly high greater male variation through a cumulative effect if those traits mostly exhibit greater male variation, or a lack of greater male variation if many of them do not. Sex differences in energy expenditure variation have been little explored. We analyzed a large database on energy expenditure in adult humans (1494 males and 3108 females) to investigate whether humans have evolved sex differences in the degree of interindividual variation in energy expenditure. We found that, even when statistically comparing males and females of the same age, height, and body composition, there is much more variation in total, activity, and basal energy expenditure among males. However, with aging, variation in total energy expenditure decreases, and because this happens more rapidly in males, the magnitude of greater male variation, though still large, is attenuated in older age groups. Considerably greater male variation in both total and activity energy expenditure could be explained by greater male variation in levels of daily activity. The considerably greater male variation in basal energy expenditure is remarkable and may be explained, at least in part, by greater male variation in the size of energy-demanding organs. If energy expenditure is a trait that is of indirect interest to females when choosing a sexual partner, this would suggest that energy expenditure is under sexual selection. However, we present a novel energetics model demonstrating that it is also possible that females have been under stabilizing selection pressure for an intermediate basal energy expenditure to maximize energy available for reproduction. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Original language	English
Article number	103229
Journal	Journal of Human Evolution
Volume	171
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103229
Publication status	Published - Oct 2022
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

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© 2022 The Author(s)

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Halsey, L. G., Careau, V., Pontzer, H., Ainslie, P. N., Andersen, L. F., Anderson, L. J., Arab, L., Baddou, I., Bedu-Addo, K., Blaak, E. E., Blanc, S., Bonomi, A. G., Bouten, C. V. C., Bovet, P., Buchowski, M. S., Butte, N. F., Camps, S. G. J. A., Close, G. L., Cooper, J. A., ... Speakman, J. R. (2022). Variability in energy expenditure is much greater in males than females. Journal of Human Evolution, 171, Article 103229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103229

@article{dd5fe076afad470f8614ef6e58626a59,

title = "Variability in energy expenditure is much greater in males than females",

abstract = "In mammals, trait variation is often reported to be greater among males than females. However, to date, mainly only morphological traits have been studied. Energy expenditure represents the metabolic costs of multiple physical, physiological, and behavioral traits. Energy expenditure could exhibit particularly high greater male variation through a cumulative effect if those traits mostly exhibit greater male variation, or a lack of greater male variation if many of them do not. Sex differences in energy expenditure variation have been little explored. We analyzed a large database on energy expenditure in adult humans (1494 males and 3108 females) to investigate whether humans have evolved sex differences in the degree of interindividual variation in energy expenditure. We found that, even when statistically comparing males and females of the same age, height, and body composition, there is much more variation in total, activity, and basal energy expenditure among males. However, with aging, variation in total energy expenditure decreases, and because this happens more rapidly in males, the magnitude of greater male variation, though still large, is attenuated in older age groups. Considerably greater male variation in both total and activity energy expenditure could be explained by greater male variation in levels of daily activity. The considerably greater male variation in basal energy expenditure is remarkable and may be explained, at least in part, by greater male variation in the size of energy-demanding organs. If energy expenditure is a trait that is of indirect interest to females when choosing a sexual partner, this would suggest that energy expenditure is under sexual selection. However, we present a novel energetics model demonstrating that it is also possible that females have been under stabilizing selection pressure for an intermediate basal energy expenditure to maximize energy available for reproduction. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.",

author = "Halsey, {Lewis G.} and Vincent Careau and Herman Pontzer and Ainslie, {Philip N.} and Andersen, {Lene F.} and Anderson, {Liam J.} and Lenore Arab and Issad Baddou and Kweku Bedu-Addo and Blaak, {Ellen E.} and Stephane Blanc and Bonomi, {Alberto G.} and Bouten, {Carlijn V. C.} and Pascal Bovet and Buchowski, {Maciej S.} and Butte, {Nancy F.} and Camps, {Stefan G. J. A.} and Close, {Graeme L.} and Cooper, {Jamie A.} and Das, {Sai Krupa} and Richard Cooper and Dugas, {Lara R.} and Ulf Ekelund and Sonja Entringer and Terrence Forrester and Fudge, {Barry W.} and Goris, {Annelies H.} and Michael Gurven and Catherine Hambly and {El Hamdouchi}, Asmaa and Hoos, {Marije B.} and Sumei Hu and Noorjehan Joonas and Joosen, {Annemiek M.} and Peter Katzmarzyk and Kempen, {Kitty P.} and Misaka Kimura and Kraus, {William E.} and Kushner, {Robert F.} and Estelle Lambert and Leonard, {William R.} and Nader Lessan and Martin, {Corby K.} and Medin, {Anine C.} and Meijer, {Erwin P.} and Morehen, {James C.} and Morton, {James P.} and Neuhouser, {Marian L.} and Nicklas, {Theresa A.} and Ojiambo, {Robert M.} and Pietilainen, {Kirsi H.} and Pitsiladis, {Yannis P.} and Jacob Plange-Rhule and Guy Plasqui and Prentice, {Ross L.} and Rabinovich, {Roberto A.} and Racette, {Susan B.} and Raichlen, {David A.} and Eric Ravussin and Reynolds, {Rebecca M.} and Roberts, {Susan B.} and Schuit, {Albertine J.} and Sjodin, {Anders M.} and Eric Stice and Urlacher, {Samuel S.} and Giulio Valenti and {Van Etten}, {Ludo M.} and {Van Mil}, {Edgar A.} and George Wilson and Wood, {Brian M.} and Jack Yanovski and Tsukasa Yoshida and Xueying Zhang and Murphy-Alford, {Alexia J.} and Loechl, {Cornelia U.} and Luke, {Amy H.} and Jennifer Rood and Hiroyuki Sagayama and Schoeller, {Dale A.} and Westerterp, {Klaas R.} and Wong, {William W.} and Yosuke Yamada and Speakman, {John R.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Author(s)",

year = "2022",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103229",

language = "English",

volume = "171",

journal = "Journal of Human Evolution",

issn = "0047-2484",

publisher = "Academic Press",

}

Halsey, LG, Careau, V, Pontzer, H, Ainslie, PN, Andersen, LF, Anderson, LJ, Arab, L, Baddou, I, Bedu-Addo, K, Blaak, EE, Blanc, S, Bonomi, AG, Bouten, CVC, Bovet, P, Buchowski, MS, Butte, NF, Camps, SGJA, Close, GL, Cooper, JA, Das, SK, Cooper, R, Dugas, LR, Ekelund, U, Entringer, S, Forrester, T, Fudge, BW, Goris, AH, Gurven, M, Hambly, C, El Hamdouchi, A, Hoos, MB, Hu, S, Joonas, N, Joosen, AM, Katzmarzyk, P, Kempen, KP, Kimura, M, Kraus, WE, Kushner, RF, Lambert, E, Leonard, WR, Lessan, N, Martin, CK, Medin, AC, Meijer, EP, Morehen, JC, Morton, JP, Neuhouser, ML, Nicklas, TA, Ojiambo, RM, Pietilainen, KH, Pitsiladis, YP, Plange-Rhule, J, Plasqui, G, Prentice, RL, Rabinovich, RA, Racette, SB, Raichlen, DA, Ravussin, E, Reynolds, RM, Roberts, SB, Schuit, AJ, Sjodin, AM, Stice, E, Urlacher, SS, Valenti, G, Van Etten, LM, Van Mil, EA, Wilson, G, Wood, BM, Yanovski, J, Yoshida, T, Zhang, X, Murphy-Alford, AJ, Loechl, CU, Luke, AH, Rood, J, Sagayama, H, Schoeller, DA, Westerterp, KR, Wong, WW, Yamada, Y & Speakman, JR 2022, 'Variability in energy expenditure is much greater in males than females', Journal of Human Evolution, vol. 171, 103229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103229

TY - JOUR

T1 - Variability in energy expenditure is much greater in males than females

AU - Halsey, Lewis G.

AU - Careau, Vincent

AU - Pontzer, Herman

AU - Ainslie, Philip N.

AU - Andersen, Lene F.

AU - Anderson, Liam J.

AU - Arab, Lenore

AU - Baddou, Issad

AU - Bedu-Addo, Kweku

AU - Blaak, Ellen E.

AU - Blanc, Stephane

AU - Bonomi, Alberto G.

AU - Bouten, Carlijn V. C.

AU - Bovet, Pascal

AU - Buchowski, Maciej S.

AU - Butte, Nancy F.

AU - Camps, Stefan G. J. A.

AU - Close, Graeme L.

AU - Cooper, Jamie A.

AU - Das, Sai Krupa

AU - Cooper, Richard

AU - Dugas, Lara R.

AU - Ekelund, Ulf

AU - Entringer, Sonja

AU - Forrester, Terrence

AU - Fudge, Barry W.

AU - Goris, Annelies H.

AU - Gurven, Michael

AU - Hambly, Catherine

AU - El Hamdouchi, Asmaa

AU - Hoos, Marije B.

AU - Hu, Sumei

AU - Joonas, Noorjehan

AU - Joosen, Annemiek M.

AU - Katzmarzyk, Peter

AU - Kempen, Kitty P.

AU - Kimura, Misaka

AU - Kraus, William E.

AU - Kushner, Robert F.

AU - Lambert, Estelle

AU - Leonard, William R.

AU - Lessan, Nader

AU - Martin, Corby K.

AU - Medin, Anine C.

AU - Meijer, Erwin P.

AU - Morehen, James C.

AU - Morton, James P.

AU - Neuhouser, Marian L.

AU - Nicklas, Theresa A.

AU - Ojiambo, Robert M.

AU - Pietilainen, Kirsi H.

AU - Pitsiladis, Yannis P.

AU - Plange-Rhule, Jacob

AU - Plasqui, Guy

AU - Prentice, Ross L.

AU - Rabinovich, Roberto A.

AU - Racette, Susan B.

AU - Raichlen, David A.

AU - Ravussin, Eric

AU - Reynolds, Rebecca M.

AU - Roberts, Susan B.

AU - Schuit, Albertine J.

AU - Sjodin, Anders M.

AU - Stice, Eric

AU - Urlacher, Samuel S.

AU - Valenti, Giulio

AU - Van Etten, Ludo M.

AU - Van Mil, Edgar A.

AU - Wilson, George

AU - Wood, Brian M.

AU - Yanovski, Jack

AU - Yoshida, Tsukasa

AU - Zhang, Xueying

AU - Murphy-Alford, Alexia J.

AU - Loechl, Cornelia U.

AU - Luke, Amy H.

AU - Rood, Jennifer

AU - Sagayama, Hiroyuki

AU - Schoeller, Dale A.

AU - Westerterp, Klaas R.

AU - Wong, William W.

AU - Yamada, Yosuke

AU - Speakman, John R.

PY - 2022/10

Y1 - 2022/10

N2 - In mammals, trait variation is often reported to be greater among males than females. However, to date, mainly only morphological traits have been studied. Energy expenditure represents the metabolic costs of multiple physical, physiological, and behavioral traits. Energy expenditure could exhibit particularly high greater male variation through a cumulative effect if those traits mostly exhibit greater male variation, or a lack of greater male variation if many of them do not. Sex differences in energy expenditure variation have been little explored. We analyzed a large database on energy expenditure in adult humans (1494 males and 3108 females) to investigate whether humans have evolved sex differences in the degree of interindividual variation in energy expenditure. We found that, even when statistically comparing males and females of the same age, height, and body composition, there is much more variation in total, activity, and basal energy expenditure among males. However, with aging, variation in total energy expenditure decreases, and because this happens more rapidly in males, the magnitude of greater male variation, though still large, is attenuated in older age groups. Considerably greater male variation in both total and activity energy expenditure could be explained by greater male variation in levels of daily activity. The considerably greater male variation in basal energy expenditure is remarkable and may be explained, at least in part, by greater male variation in the size of energy-demanding organs. If energy expenditure is a trait that is of indirect interest to females when choosing a sexual partner, this would suggest that energy expenditure is under sexual selection. However, we present a novel energetics model demonstrating that it is also possible that females have been under stabilizing selection pressure for an intermediate basal energy expenditure to maximize energy available for reproduction. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

AB - In mammals, trait variation is often reported to be greater among males than females. However, to date, mainly only morphological traits have been studied. Energy expenditure represents the metabolic costs of multiple physical, physiological, and behavioral traits. Energy expenditure could exhibit particularly high greater male variation through a cumulative effect if those traits mostly exhibit greater male variation, or a lack of greater male variation if many of them do not. Sex differences in energy expenditure variation have been little explored. We analyzed a large database on energy expenditure in adult humans (1494 males and 3108 females) to investigate whether humans have evolved sex differences in the degree of interindividual variation in energy expenditure. We found that, even when statistically comparing males and females of the same age, height, and body composition, there is much more variation in total, activity, and basal energy expenditure among males. However, with aging, variation in total energy expenditure decreases, and because this happens more rapidly in males, the magnitude of greater male variation, though still large, is attenuated in older age groups. Considerably greater male variation in both total and activity energy expenditure could be explained by greater male variation in levels of daily activity. The considerably greater male variation in basal energy expenditure is remarkable and may be explained, at least in part, by greater male variation in the size of energy-demanding organs. If energy expenditure is a trait that is of indirect interest to females when choosing a sexual partner, this would suggest that energy expenditure is under sexual selection. However, we present a novel energetics model demonstrating that it is also possible that females have been under stabilizing selection pressure for an intermediate basal energy expenditure to maximize energy available for reproduction. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138028738&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103229

DO - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103229

M3 - Article

SN - 0047-2484

VL - 171

JO - Journal of Human Evolution

JF - Journal of Human Evolution

M1 - 103229

ER -

Variability in energy expenditure is much greater in males than females

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