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A hypothesis for the origin and evolution of menopause
1Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles 90024-1429, USA.
Maturitas
|February 1, 1995
Summary
Menopause likely evolved early in human evolution due to the high energetic costs of raising increasingly helpless offspring. Natural selection favored females ceasing reproduction to better support existing children, enhancing overall reproductive success.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Anthropology
- Reproductive Biology
Background:
- Menopause is hypothesized to be an ancient human trait.
- Previous theories lack consensus on its evolutionary origins.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a novel hypothesis for the evolutionary origin of menopause.
- To investigate the role of energetic costs in reproductive senescence.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of life history theory.
- Development and application of a mathematical model.
- Examination of energetic costs of reproduction in early hominids.
Main Results:
- Reproductive senescence (menopause) can be evolutionarily advantageous.
- Increased offspring survival and fertility can outweigh costs of late pregnancies.
- Model suggests menopause could originate from selection for investment in existing offspring.
Conclusions:
- Menopause may have originated as early as 1.5 million years ago.
- Selection likely favored increased investment in own children over grandchildren.
- The encephalization of hominid offspring drove the evolution of menopause.