Harvard professor explains why people are made to sit and not to run around

In his book, a professor of Havard University explains why our ancestors sat a lot and did not come up with the idea of ​​running around for health.

What kind of professor is that? Daniel E. Lieberman is a professor of paleoanthropology and biology at Harvard University, who deals with the evolution of the human body in his research.

In his new book “Exercised” Lieberman is devoted to the topic: “Why something that we have never developed for is healthy and worthwhile.” In the book, he discusses the topic of movement and training and to what extent movement is healthy and worthwhile.

Man sat to save energy

What does he say about sitting and running? Lieberman’s basic idea is that from an evolutionary biological point of view, people are not done for sports. Even if he does not recommend a sitting lifestyle and informs about the health concerns in a chapter that insists on excessive sitting.

Already at the beginning of the book Lieberman explains that sporting activity than a whole is a rather young phenomenon. He says our ancestors, the hunters and collectors or farmers, “did not come up with the idea of ​​running or going several kilometers just to be healthy.” After all, the human body needs around 63 % of the available energy for basic needs/ rest metabolism.

The life of the hunters and collectors therefore prevents people wastes calories for voluntary physical activities.

Lieberman explains that our ancestors probably spent a lot of time sitting or lying – according to his estimate, about 5–10 hours a day. In this way, you save energy that you need for strenuous physical activities. Because the human body consumes a lot of energy even without physical activity, for example through the highly active human brain and the unique reproductive strategy.

The difference to hunters and collectors: Lieberman makes it clear in the book that our western lifestyle differs greatly from that of hunters and collectors. Although hunters and collectors are only physically active for a few hours a day, according to Liebermann, they also carry out countless survival -important tasks.

In addition, our ancestors did not sit on cozy chairs with a backrest. Instead, they sat on the floor, knelt or crouched. Especially when crouching, the body – in return to sit on a chair with a backrest – continues to be physically stressed.

If you are sitting a lot, Lieberman advises you to sit more actively – i.e. to change the seating position regularly and move you, to get up occasionally and not to sit continuously for hours.