Last week we had a wellness panel at Geek Physique, involving several health and wellness professionals, covering a variety of topics relevant to the overall theme of developing a healthy lifestyle.
One idea I found particularly thought-provoking was that of our
metabolic efficiency, and how we think of it as a curse, to be able to
store energy the way we do, because for some of us, it means we tend
toward weight gain. The thing that struck me about that is not just
that we have this amazingly evolved metabolic system that is geared
toward making the most of the fuel we provide it... certainly, that's
something worth examination, because it is a basic reality of our
genetic inheritance as human beings.
But the question of why we
evolved that way is one we should consider. Why would we need to store
energy? Why is metabolic efficiency advantageous from an evolutionary
perspective? And what does this mean for us now? Obviously, prior to
industrialized society, even within an agrarian model, the fickleness of
the seasons, and potential for famines and hard years provides some of
that answer. Our ancestors needed to make the most of the food they
consumed, because there was no guarantee tomorrow's hunt would be
successful, or that the growing season would be ideal.
The trick
for modern humans is that, for most of us, food is relatively easy to
acquire. We don't work in the fields all day, we don't chase down our
next meal, we don't hike out into the woods to forage for nuts and
berries. We get in our cars, we sit at desks all day, we drive to a grocery store or restaurant,
and there's all this amazing food for us to choose from. We go home and spend the evening watching tv, or reading a book, or playing (mostly) sedentary video games. Sometimes we get together with friends, but how much of that time is spent sitting around yakking? (I know I can answer that with "endless hours.")
I
like to think that all this evolutionary advantage is something we
should embrace. One of the things I focus on here at Geek Physique is a
mentality of "playing" with my friends. When I was a child, nobody had
to persuade me to get up and chase my friends, or go out to explore the
woods behind the house, or get on my bike and ride all over the place.
I just did it. I had lots of energy to burn, and I made the most of
it. That's the mentality I'm trying to cultivate in myself again. So
this idea of our metabolic efficiency reinforces the model I've already
been shaping for myself -- I have all this energy my body has stored up,
and that means my body wants me to use it.
I don't have to perform manual labor to feed myself, so I need to playfully
recreate some of the activity level of our amazingly adaptable
ancestors. Those ancestors are the reason why I'm so darn good at
storing excess caloric energy, and I imagine they would envy the amount of free time we enjoy. I also wonder at how they might perceive our need to "schedule" time to burn the fuel we consume. I don't need to go out and hunt woolly
mammoth, but I really ought to be preparing for the zombie apocalypse at
foam dart tag (you know I'm right about this!). I don't need to forage
in forests, but there are lands and frontiers to be explored in
YogaQuest. I'm unlikely to end up in many sword fights, but just in case some Highlander shows up at my door, I've learned some sweet Aikido Bokken moves, and I'm not afraid to use them.
Our genetic inheritance of metabolic efficiency is not a curse. It's a bit of evolutionary insurance against starvation, which is most definitely a good thing. This efficiency only becomes problematic in a culture with easy and abundant access to food, and an accompanying sedentary lifestyle. There were several great messages at the wellness panel, but I found this particular subject particularly relevant to my current pursuits, as I continue my fitness journey.
