Compared to other great apes, humans have more body fat
Human DNA is more than 98 percent identical to chimpanzees and bonobos, but we look very different. First of all, the obvious differences are the limbs, face shape, and the presence or absence of body hair.
By the way, if you look closely, the chimpanzee's body is well toned. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks so. The difference is not just in muscle mass. Humans and their relatives, the great apes, also differ in how they store body fat. For humans, this was actually an advantage in the long run.
When comparing bonobos and humans on average, bonobos have much more muscle mass than humans, especially in the upper body, and are overwhelmingly stronger. However, multiple studies have shown that bonobos do not have much of a physical advantage when compared to humans with the same amount of muscle.
Comparing the actual force and velocity of muscle fibers between chimpanzees and humans, we found that chimpanzee muscles are slightly less than 1.5 times faster than humans. In other words, it is true that chimpanzees are stronger than humans, but they are not as strong as the Incredible Hulk in comparison.
If chimpanzees don't have superhero strength, why do chimpanzee bodies look so "finished"? "That's actually because humans have more body fat than other primates."
The fact that humans have more body fat seems to make sense from a lifestyle standpoint. Humans have a dietary culture of ingesting a variety of nutrients, so it is actually difficult to compare humans with other apes.
Apes in zoos have a very different diet than they do in the wild. This is because zoo animals are properly fed according to their needs.
In one study, the body fat of humans and other apes was compared. Autopsies of 13 bonobos that died of natural causes in zoos and research facilities showed a very low percentage of body fat relative to total body weight, despite being in captivity.
The average body fat of both male and female bonobos was less than the average body fat of human adults of any gender. Bonobos ranged from less than 1 percent to just over 8 percent body fat. The average body fat percentage of a healthy human is about 14-30%.
As previously mentioned, these bonobos were under nutritional control. However, due to lack of exercise, the figures are only body fat data for these bonobos and are not a reference for all bonobo body fat. .