Where Did You Get Those Genes?

     Have you ever heard of the saying, “The only thing constant in life is change.”?  It seems as if society hasn’t taken the time to consider the impact of change on our current daily lives in comparison to the past.  Cultural advancements that make our life relatively less complicated has also lulled us into a false sense of satiety, which takes away our readiness to be prepared for change.  The word evolution has to be put into perspective.  Almost everyone is familiar with the theory of evolution, which has nothing to do with practical application for today.  Evolution is, simply, change or progression, or growth, or maturation.  Evolutionary biology is a term that I will share to increase the understanding of our “genes” and how it relates to how we function in today’s society, and how our bodies respond to various forms of activities and nutrients.  I’m also going to introduce some individuals who have premises that are going to inspire a greater level of consciousness about our environment.  I will focus on the concept of evolutionary biology, the importance of energy expenditure, and strategies to maintain behavior adaptation and energy balance to prove that change throughout time has an impact on how we live with function or dysfunction today.
     To begin the conversation of “Evolutionary Biology”, we have to consider the fact that most of us keep evolutionary concepts in history books because we know that there is no practical application for it in today’s society.  That’s not true because during ancient times (50,000-10,000 BC), mankind lived in periods of a feast and famine cycle (hunter/gatherer lifestyle), which our ancient ancestors needed for survival (2, 5).  Herman Pontzer noted that the evolutionary perspective is powerful yet straightforward: the human body has been shaped through natural selection to meet a particular set of ecological conditions and challenges (4).  Physical activity, food, reproduction; this was their concern!  It goes without saying that in times of feast, there was physical activity; in times of famine, there was rest.  This kind of behavior sets in motion a behavior pattern coupled with the physiology (genes/genotype) that signals the body to either thrive of conserve.  Our bodies are programmed to recognize energy expenditure for survival, or preservation of life.  We must give our bodies the right signals to thrive, or live.  The time is now to understand energy expenditure and how it applies to our “thrifty genes”.
     There are a few changes that have occurred in our genes or gene sequences over the past 10,000 years, and certainly not in the last 40 years (2).  Our environment, or ecological condition, demands that we engage in physical activity.  Why?; we live in a time of abundance.  “Thrifty genes, through the course of evolution, function as being exceptionally efficient in the intake and/or utilization of food (2).  A sedentary lifestyle gives the signal for the body to store and not use nutrients efficiently.  There are many chronic illnesses that are being called “diseases of affluence” due to the over abundance state in this country (4).  We cannot be content with this knowing our physiological gene expression is dependant on physical activity, however slight.  A TEE (Total Energy Expenditure) study was conducted showing that it is a process that is shared by all of our organs; it is not a product of body size and physical activity (4).  An ideal state is to have our energy (caloric) expenditure higher during times of rest than at times of physical activity.
     Our BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the body’s process of energy expenditure at rest, and the first strategy to give thriving signals to the body is environmental awareness.  Increasing our BMR begins with activities that focus on muscular contraction in its simplest form (i.e. pushing, pulling, rotating, level changing).  These movements are used for survival (work), causes automatic interaction with our environment.  Secondly, we must also have sedentary awareness.  Just because there is a demand for results that we entrust machines to produce for us, that doesn’t mean we remove something that has been with us since the beginning of time — self preservation during times of change.
     Everything will cease to exist, as we know it, if we don’t take care of ourselves and the environment.
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1. Aspen Institute. Physical Literacy: A Global Environment Scan. Washington D.C.: The Aspen Institute, 2015.

2. Chakravarthy M, Booth F. Eating, exercise and “thrifty” genotypes: connecting the dots toward an evolutionary understanding of modern chronic diseases. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2004; 96:3-10.

3. Farrey, Tom. Sport for All Play for Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game. Sports & Society—The Aspen Institute (Washington D.C.). 26 January 2015. Web Pdf. 01 SEP 2015.

4. Pontzer, Herman. Constrained Total Energy Expenditure and the Evolutionary Biology of Energy Balance. ACSM’s Exercise & Sport Sciences Reviews. 2015; 43(3): 110-116.

5. Ribisl, Paul. Darwin Was Wrong: The Thrifty Genotype and Demise of the Fittest. ACSM’s HealthFitness J. 2004; 8(2): 19-21.

6. Whitehead, Margaret. Physical Literacy: Philosophical considerations in relation to developing a sense of self, universality, and propositional knowledge. www.physicalliteracy.org.uk. June 2007.