Exercised : The Science of Physical Activity, Rest and Health

In industrialized nations, our sedentary lifestyles have led to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases like diabetes. The answer, we are told, is exercise - voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. However, most of us struggle to stay fit, and we are often plagued by misconceptions and anxieties about it. Drawing on over a decade of research, Daniel Lieberman shows that, in fact, we evolved to be physically active but not to exercise. Offering insights from evolutionary biology and anthropology, he explains why and how exercise can promote health, debunks myths about sitting, speed, strength and endurance, and points the way towards how we can be more physically active in the modern world. 'Endlessly fascinating and full of surprises. Easily one of my books of the year' BILL BRYSON 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 the way towards more enjoyable and physically active living in the modern world. 'Myth-busting, illuminating, brilliant - Lieberman will completely change the way you think about your body' Professor ALICE ROBERTS , presenter of Our Incredible Human Journey Prologue ONE Are We Born to Rest or Run? PART I INACTIVITY TWO Inactivity: The Importance of Being Lazy THREE Sitting: Is It the New Smoking? FOUR Sleep: Why Stress Thwarts Rest PART II SPEED, STRENGTH, AND POWER FIVE Speed: Neither Tortoise nor Hare SIX Strength: From Brawny to Scrawny SEVEN Fighting and Sports: From Fangs to Football 140 PART III ENDURANCE EIGHT Walking: All in a Day’s Walk NINE Running and Dancing: Jumping from One Leg to the Other TEN Endurance and Aging: The Active Grandparent and Costly Repair Hypotheses PART IV EXERCISE IN THE MODERN WORLD ELEVEN To Move or Not to Move: How to Make Exercise Happen TWELVE How Much and What Type? THIRTEEN Exercise and Disease Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Index