@Penguin
Well, yeah. But it's not exactly enough time to absorb the knowledge of their elders, get a decent knowledge of the land themselves, have kids AND pass on knowledge to them is it? So generation after generation (and with a 12-year lifespan that's pretty quick cycling through generations) you lose more and more information. Which could very easily be worse for the community than them simply dying young.
And being grossly overweight from fat-kid eating would be even more of a disadvantage.

Conversely, a modern [sub]urban way of life is relatively free of problems- it's considered "fighting for food" by some if there's a line at Tesco or a "warzone" if someone knifes someone else. So little tubby Timmy the fat kid will survive longer and will be able to absorb the knowledge of his elders, learn about their surroundings and possibly even father and teach a child to continue on the cycle. So there's no net loss of knowledge or increase of dependance on hand-outs as time goes by.

This is also why the rich/poor divide will naturally increase with time; the rich can afford better training and normally a more focussed life (none of the hassles of budgeting or having particularly good timekeeping) whereas the poor have to work harder to keep themselves from making a net skills/knowledge-loss generation upon generation. And because us westerners have put in place a decent foundation for learning- women and men both able to learn essentially as we see fit, for example- we'll continue to prosper.
( uberdeity Wondered why Owen Lars knew of the term "hell" on, Tue 22 Apr 2008, 15:05, Reply)