Degrees of Health

Dr Cara Ocobock, PhD | Humans at Extremes: Biological Underpinnings of our Evolution

Jan 31, 2024

01:01:35

To understand our physiology and health today, it’s critical to look back - a long way - at our evolution, not only to inform our now, but to better understand which mechanisms we may need to sustain us in the face of our changing world. Dr Cara Ocobock is an evolutionary anthropology encyclopaedia, an enthusiastic academic, and an incredibly engaging listen.

In this episode, Dr Cara helps us to understand some of the interactions between our physiology, our evolution and our environments. In Cara’s work with reindeer herders in Finland, she explores physiological and behavioural mechanisms required to cope and adapt to extreme climates and activity. We discuss her findings into brown adipose tissue (BAT or brown fat), metabolic health, male/female differences, the potential drivers of metabolically healthy obesity, and the role of oestrogen in the body (spoiler: gents - you need this too!)

Find Cara:

cocobock@nd.edu

‘Cara Ocobock’ Twitter, Bluesky, Threads

Cara also has a podcast of her own disseminating innovative research in the field - Sausage of Science

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Mentioned in this podcast:

Jeremy DeSilva

Milford Wolpuff

Herman Pontzer

University of Lapland

University of Oulu

Studies mentioned in this podcast: