Despite eating a lot of whale and seal meat, this ethnic group does not worry about obesity or cardiovascular disease.
For many people, winter with freezing weather and constant whistling winds is a torture. But for the Inuit people in Greenland, it is too normal to live with winter for 6 consecutive months.
Dog sleds are the main means of transportation in Greenland.
For decades, anthropologists and biologists have studied the strange Inuit people who are able to withstand the cold winters. A study published in the journal Molecular Biology has found the cause of this extraordinary endurance: unusual genetic variations of the Inuit.
The genes that exist in the Inuit are descended from the Denisovans , an ancient group of people that lived half a million years ago. Most people in the world no longer have this gene. Due to the endowment of the “superman” gene, it is easy to understand why the Inuit can withstand colds of up to minus 30 degrees Celsius for many consecutive months.
The magic gene helps the Inuit survive the fat-burning mechanism to warm the body. They can eat more fat than usual without worrying about obesity or cardiovascular disease. Their favorite food is whale meat, seals. These are high-fat foods and provide a good source of protein for the Inuit.
The Inuit people carry the gene “superman” to withstand the cold.
Rasmus Nielesel, a scientist at the University of California, USA, said: “The special gene of the Inuit helps them to withstand the cold weather in the polar region.” Professor Rasmus said he has done a lot of research on human genes, and found that in areas such as South America and East Asia, there are also genetic variations to suit the living environment. However, no human race has genetic variation as strongly as the Inuit.
Professor Rasmus hopes that a better understanding of cold tolerance genes will help people solve the problem of coping with climate change in the future when extreme weather events will become more and more common.