Scientific explanation to Polynesians being heavy-handed?

[Koro]

David Tua, Soa Palelei, Tai Tuivasa, Mark Hunt, James Te-Huna, to name a few

Was there ever a scientific study on why Polynesians are notoriously knockout artists?

 

[Judoka1532]

good question. While I can't offer and scientific backing, I can offer my opinion. My thinking on Polynesians is that they are among the most athletic ethnicities on earth. If you look in the NFL and college, there's an abundance of Polynesians that make them much more likely to play than other races. There was a study talked about that a one time. Basically they are way more likely to make it to the big stage than any other race.

My explanation would be that since they come from small islands, the larger men must have lived longer and been able to reproduce more than the small ones. Wether this is because of food shortages, and those who stored fat were more likely to survive, or that they fought one another and the larger men survived, I'm not sure. But I do know they have higher fat storage, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. With that fat storage also came fast twitch muscles and athleticism meaning they developed bigger,faster, stronger, explosive guys. So it could have very well been a smaller population that only certain men/women survived. There could have been constant war, constant food scarcity, and both. Women may have seen the larger men and chose them as mates for protection or confidence that they can provide and survive and thus make stronger children. And vice versa for men choosing the larger women.

My knowledge of evolution makes me think that this isn't just coincidence.