Exercised

Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding

hardcover, 464 pages

Published Jan. 5, 2021 by Pantheon Books, Pantheon.

ISBN:
978-1-5247-4698-8
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4 stars (8 reviews)

The myth-busting science behind our modern attitudes to exercise: what our bodies really need, why it matters, and its effects on health and wellbeing.

In industrialized nations, our sedentary lifestyles have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases like diabetes. A key remedy, we are told, is exercise - voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. However, most of us struggle to stay fit, and our attitudes to exercise are plagued by misconceptions, finger-pointing and anxiety.

But, as Daniel Lieberman shows in Exercised, the first book of its kind by a leading scientific expert, we never evolved to exercise. We are hardwired for moderate exertion throughout each day, not triathlons or treadmills. Drawing on over a decade of high-level scientific research and eye-opening insights from evolutionary biology and anthropology, Lieberman explains precisely how exercise can promote health; debunks persistent myths about sitting, speed, strength and endurance; and points …

6 editions

An Incredible Dive into Human Evolution, Anatomy, Anthropology, and More

5 stars

The modern, post-industrialized world is so different than the environment humans evolved in, so it can be challenging to design studies that adequately investigate how and why some types of physical activity can lead to better and worse outcomes. Fortunately Daniel Lieberman has assembled a vast array of literature from his own anthropological and laboratory work to other research on sleep, aging, and more to provide an incredible view into this important topic. Lieberman brings his characteristic engaging writing style here, and I also enjoyed the section that won him and his coauthors an igNobel (on why pregnant women don't fall over) that my wife (a fellow igNobel winner on a different topic) demonstrated at an igNobel event! Highly recommend.

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