Why Hunter-Gatherers are not Overweight?

Members of the Hadza culture of Tanzania dig for   
 tubers. One woman wears a monitor that measures 
her heart rate and her movement with GPS.  
(Picture from: http://www.livescience.com/)

The more the world's population is getting fat, Western lifestyle is considered as the cause. But many people who consider it odd for a lifestyle that a lot of meat, and sugar is a genetic inheritance from our ancestors who lived as hunters and gatherers.

To find out what causes the differences occurred, a number of scientists from Yale University in the United States studied the Hadza lifestyle, modern hunter-gatherers who live in the savannas of North Tanzania.

"Given no viable populations of species that is a perfect model of our past, Hadza lifestyle is very similar to our ancestors in the Pleistocene," said a team of scientists. "If present correct modeling of obesity, Hadza, a natural diet and limited mechanization, should spend more energy than people in Western countries are more sedentary lifestyle and have a diet high in sugar."

However, comparison of the metabolism of 30 Hadza population with population groups from around the world indicate that not the case. Hadza are more physically active than the West, but they do not spend more energy. After measuring their body size, the analysis showed that the average daily energy expenditure Hadza people are no different from the West.

A Hadza man climbs a tree to get wild honey. In spite of this strenuous life style, a new study has found that these hunter-gathers burn no more calories than more sedentary Westerners. (Picture from: http://www.livescience.com/)

"Our hypothesis, daily energy expenditure may be a developmental nature of human physiology that is free from cultural differences," said a team of scientists in a report published in the journal PLoS ONE, July 25, 2012. *** [LIVESCIENCE | KORAN TEMPO 3969]

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