Daniel Lieberman, a paleoanthropologist at Harvard, explains how our bodies evolved to hold onto fat for survival. They discuss the challenges and resistance our bodies have towards weight loss. Professor Lieberman discusses the paleo diet and highlights the importance of eating plant-based foods and avoiding processed ones.
Our bodies are evolutionarily wired to hold onto fat as a survival strategy, making weight loss challenging in modern environments.
Exercise can help reduce the risk of weight gain, provide health benefits, and counteract the effects of our evolutionary wiring.
Deep dives
The Weight Loss Struggle
Losing weight is difficult, and it is common for people to regain most of the weight within a year after losing 10% of their body weight.
Evolutionary Mismatches
Our bodies are adapted to maintain a certain weight, and our evolutionary past has wired us to hold onto fat for reproductive success. However, modern lifestyles and environments lead to mismatches that make weight loss challenging.
Diet and Exercise
Obesity leads to inflammation, and physical inactivity contributes to weight gain. While it may be difficult to lose weight intentionally, exercise can reduce the risk of weight gain and provide other health benefits.
Everybody knows losing weight is tough. But why? While diet, exercise, and willpower might have something to do with it. The root may lie in how we humans have evolved as a species. Could our bodies be hardwired to resist shedding pounds? In this episode, Sanjay speaks to Daniel Lieberman, a paleoanthropologist and professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University. He’ll explain how our bodies evolved to hold onto fat as a strategy for survival. Plus, we'll get tips for exercising and eating right, with our evolutionary needs in mind.