Astounding Facts About Primates that Never Cease to Amaze
7. Diet affects a monkey’s behavior.
You may have noticed in your own life that what you eat does affect how much energy you have and, well, how you act in different situations. If you are hungry (and especially if you are hangry!), you may find that you are irritable and easily upset. Suppose you have been eating healthy food full of vitamins and minerals, especially if you are eating more plants than meat. You may find that you have more energy to get through your day. If you have been drinking soda and eating sweets, you will probably find that you are sluggish and unmotivated. Moreover, you should not be surprised, as diet plays a massive role in how well our bodies work from one day to the next.
Researchers have found that monkeys are not all that different. In tracking the movement of monkeys through the tropical rain forests of Panama, researchers found that monkeys who ate an energy-rich diet full of fruit, along with eggs, insects, and small animals, moved through the trees at a rate of about five meters per minute. On the other hand, monkeys who ate a low-energy diet mainly consisted of leaves moved much more slowly, at about three meters per minute. Without sufficient energy from their diet, the slower monkeys just did not have the juice they needed to be as springy as their more energetic companions.
You may have noticed in your own life that what you eat does affect how much energy you have and, well, how you act in different situations. If you are hungry (and especially if you are hangry!), you may find that you are irritable and easily upset. Suppose you have been eating healthy food full of vitamins and minerals, especially if you are eating more plants than meat. You may find that you have more energy to get through your day. If you have been drinking soda and eating sweets, you will probably find that you are sluggish and unmotivated. Moreover, you should not be surprised, as diet plays a massive role in how well our bodies work from one day to the next.
Researchers have found that monkeys are not all that different. In tracking the movement of monkeys through the tropical rain forests of Panama, researchers found that monkeys who ate an energy-rich diet full of fruit, along with eggs, insects, and small animals, moved through the trees at a rate of about five meters per minute. On the other hand, monkeys who ate a low-energy diet mainly consisted of leaves moved much more slowly, at about three meters per minute. Without sufficient energy from their diet, the slower monkeys just did not have the juice they needed to be as springy as their more energetic companions.
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13 September 2022
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