The Impact of Changing Diets and Food Manipulation on Population Growth

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Changing from a diverse hunter-gatherer diet to a more carb-heavy farming diet led to a narrower food selection but higher energy per bite. Farming allowed for the manipulation of animals and plants to increase energy output. The increase in available calories led to population explosions as calories were converted into babies. However, closer living quarters in villages increased exposure to contagious diseases, resulting in shorter individuals due to prolonged sickness in childhood. The new diet enabled the species to have more babies earlier by feeding them grainy mush sooner, leading to shorter breastfeeding periods and increased fertility, ultimately contributing to population growth. The success brought by the changing diet led to population growth until it led to negative consequences when populations became too dense.

*Content warning up top: This episode discusses sensitive themes like diet culture, caloric intake, the psychological & physical effects of food restriction and includes many listeners’ personal experience with the term “obesity." It may be triggering for those with a history of or sensitivity to disordered eating. We also discuss the Body Mass Index, still used by medical professionals, but acknowledged by many sociologists to be rooted in structural oppression.*

Let’s explore our human machinery. And talk about Brazilian butt lifts. Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and metabolism researcher Dr. Herman Pontzer gives us the data on mitochondrial backstories, muscle mass and hormones, our expanding brains, the flaws of the Body Mass Index, humans’ relationships with nutrition, why crash dieting can change your metabolism, perspectives on sticky medical terms, isotope magic, how much exercise hunter gatherers get, carnivore diets, scales, and what to do if you're grappling with sadness.

Visit the Pontzer Lab website

Browse Dr. Pontzer’s papers on ResearchGate and follow him on Instagram and X

Buy Dr. Pontzer’s book, Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Stay Healthy, and Lose Weight

A donation went to Hadza Fund