A professor at Harvard University explains in his book why our ancestors sat a lot and did not come up with the idea of walking around for health.
What kind of professor is he? Daniel E. Lieberman is a professor of Paleoanthropology and Biology at Harvard University, who researches among other things the evolution of the human body.
In his new book “Exercised”, Lieberman addresses the theme: “Why something we never evolved for is healthy and rewarding.” In the book, he discusses the topic of movement and training and the extent to which exercise is healthy and worthwhile.
Humans sat to conserve energy
What does he say about sitting and running? Lieberman’s main idea is that from an evolutionary biological perspective, humans are not made for sports. Although he does not recommend a sedentary lifestyle and informs about the health concerns related to excessive sitting in a chapter.
At the beginning of the book, Lieberman explains that physical activity as a whole is a relatively young phenomenon. He states that our ancestors, who were hunter-gatherers or farmers, “did not come up with the idea of running or walking several kilometers just to be healthy.” After all, the human body uses about 63% of the available energy for basic needs/resting metabolism.
The life of hunter-gatherers prevents humans from wasting calories on voluntary physical activities.
Lieberman explains that our ancestors likely spent a lot of time sitting or lying down – according to his estimate, about 5-10 hours a day. They thus conserved energy needed for strenuous physical activities. Because the human body also consumes a lot of energy without physical activity, for example, through the highly active human brain and the unique reproductive strategy.
The difference to hunter-gatherers: Lieberman makes it clear in the book that our Western lifestyle differs greatly from that of hunter-gatherers. While hunter-gatherers are physically active only a few hours a day, they perform countless vital tasks according to Lieberman.
Furthermore, our ancestors did not sit on comfortable chairs with backrests. Instead, they sat on the ground, knelt, or squatted. Especially in a squat, the body is physically engaged – unlike sitting in a chair with a backrest.
If you sit a lot, Lieberman advises to sit actively more often – meaning to change your sitting position regularly and to move, occasionally stand up, and not sit for hours on end.
