4 ms·

I can believe it. I’m curious what typical body types were like in the hunter/gather societies human evolved in, and whether those are ideal for longevity and q

I can believe it. I’m curious what typical body types were like in the hunter/gather societies human evolved in, and whether those are ideal for longevity and quality of life in modern society.

Reelin 6y ago
> and whether those are ideal for longevity and quality of life in modern society This seems like the real question to me; I assume pre-agrarian humans were biologically optimizing to survive famine. Not being an expert on the subject, I wonder what sort of tradeoffs are associated with intense exercise regimes (and how the balance ultimately comes out with respect to modern society).
- shajznnckfke 6y ago
  I suppose the low fat / high muscle combination would be unlikely for much of the year in places where it was necessary to store fat for the winter.
ridaj 6y ago
The kind of hunt that humans are believed to have practiced early on was persistence hunting, which consists of chasing prey over long distances until they are exhausted (the gazelle can outrun any human on a scale of minutes, but not on a scale of hours). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting If that is the case then the body type would have been low mass overall, like marathoners. As for best body type for quality of life today (at least from a health perspective), that seems relatively aligned.
nradov 6y ago
Neolithic hunter gatherers were as strong as elite athletes today. Civilization and automation have made us weak and frail. https://www.popsci.com/prehistoric-women-strong-rower/ https://www.popsci.com/prehistoric-women-strong-rower/
- Reelin 6y ago
  Lacking in raw physical power by comparison, sure. But what health issues do we avoid? Do new health issues arise? Optimality in a complex environment is inevitably a nontrivial trade off; we aren't forced to hunt animals with primitive weapons or contend with widespread famine in the modern world.
  - mr_toad 6y ago
    > But what health issues do we avoid? Infant and child mortality is much much lower.

I can believe it. I’m curious what typical body types were like in the hunter/gather societies human evolved in, and whether those are ideal for longevity and quality of life in modern society.

Reelin 6y ago

> and whether those are ideal for longevity and quality of life in modern society This seems like the real question to me; I assume pre-agrarian humans were biologically optimizing to survive famine. Not being an expert on the subject, I wonder what sort of tradeoffs are associated with intense exercise regimes (and how the balance ultimately comes out with respect to modern society).

shajznnckfke 6y ago
I suppose the low fat / high muscle combination would be unlikely for much of the year in places where it was necessary to store fat for the winter.

ridaj 6y ago

The kind of hunt that humans are believed to have practiced early on was persistence hunting, which consists of chasing prey over long distances until they are exhausted (the gazelle can outrun any human on a scale of minutes, but not on a scale of hours). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting If that is the case then the body type would have been low mass overall, like marathoners. As for best body type for quality of life today (at least from a health perspective), that seems relatively aligned.

nradov 6y ago

Neolithic hunter gatherers were as strong as elite athletes today. Civilization and automation have made us weak and frail. https://www.popsci.com/prehistoric-women-strong-rower/ https://www.popsci.com/prehistoric-women-strong-rower/

Reelin 6y ago
Lacking in raw physical power by comparison, sure. But what health issues do we avoid? Do new health issues arise? Optimality in a complex environment is inevitably a nontrivial trade off; we aren't forced to hunt animals with primitive weapons or contend with widespread famine in the modern world.
- mr_toad 6y ago
  > But what health issues do we avoid? Infant and child mortality is much much lower.