HUMBER SHOREBIRDS ARE 'YO-YO DIETERS' SO HOW COME THEY EVADE KILLER DISEASES?

Godwits, such as this bird seen on Cleethorpes Beach, really enjoy a good tuck-in

COULD the shorebirds that dwell on the Humber mudflats in winter provide a pointer to how to improve human health?

This is a theory put into play by American ornithologist Scott Weidensaul who has been studying the feeding behaviour of species such as bar-tailed godwits.

In a new book, he writes: "People have long been warned about the dangers of yo-yo dieting, gaining and losing and gaining weight in repetitive cycles.

"But birds such as godwits oscillate between extremes of grossly fat and starving thin that no human ever approaches, and they do so several times a year, sometimes for decades.

"Yet they seem to suffer none of the consequences that would plague a human, including increased risk for hypertension, heart disease and stroke."

Weidensaul continues:  "Godwits'  blood chemistry during migration season shows many of the same warning signs seen in a human with diabetes or coronary disease but without the negative consequences?"

Alas, the author has to concede that how birds protect themselves is "still a mystery", but he says researchers hope that insights from avian physiology may "help unlock new  treatments and preventative approaches in people".

Elsewhere in the book, Weidensaul suggests that it is possible for a human brain to increase its number of neurons - potentially invaluable in combatting neurological decline.

The clues here could come from research on reed warblers - coincidentally another species, seen in North East Lincolnshire where it inhabits reedy habitats during summer before flying to Africa for winter.

* A World on The Wing - The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Scott Weidensaul is published by Picador at £20.