Size Counts: Evolutionary Perspectives on Physical Activity and Body Size From Early Hominids to Modern Humans

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (s3) ◽  
pp. S284-S298 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Subsistence Level ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Early Hominids ◽  
Nutritional Characteristics ◽  
Dramatic Rise

This paper examines the evolutionary origins of human dietary and activity patterns, and their implications for understanding modern health problems. Humans have evolved distinctive nutritional characteristics associated the high metabolic costs of our large brains. The evolution of larger hominid brain size necessitated the adoption of foraging strategies that both provided high quality foods, and required larger ranges and activity budgets. Over time, human subsistence strategies have become ever more efficient in obtaining energy with minimal time and effort. Today, populations of the industrialized world live in environments characterized by low levels of energy expenditure and abundant food supplies contributing to growing rates of obesity. Analyses of trends in dietary intake and body weight in the US over the last 50 years indicate that the dramatic rise in obesity cannot be explained solely by increased energy consumption. Rather, declines in activity are also important. Further, we find that recent recommendations on physical activity have the potential to bring daily energy expenditure levels of industrialized societies surprisingly close to those observed among subsistence-level populations. These findings highlight the importance of physical activity in promoting nutritional health and show the utility of evolutionary approaches for developing public health recommendations.

scholarly journals The effect of changing the moisture levels of dry extruded and wet canned diets on physical activity in cats

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Thomas ◽  
M. Post ◽  
G. Bosch
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Urine Volume ◽  
Latin Square ◽  
Total Activity ◽  
Freeze Dried ◽  
Urine Production ◽  
Average Activity ◽  
Dry Diet

AbstractObesity levels in cats are increasing and the main causative factor is higher energy intake v. energy expenditure over time. Therefore, altering energy expenditure by enhancing physical activity of the cat could be a strategy to reduce obesity. Hydrating commercial dry diets with water increased activity in cats; however, no study has compared this approach with feeding high-moisture canned diets. Eight healthy male neutered domestic shorthair cats were fed four different dietary treatments in a Latin square design. Treatments were a canned diet ‘as is’ (82 % moisture) and freeze-dried (4 %), a dry diet ‘as is’ (3 %) and with added water (70 %). Cat activity was measured continuously using Actical® accelerometers. Cats were group housed during the first 14 d of each period and then moved to individual cages for 7 d with faecal and urine production measured over the final 4 d. Intake was similar for each diet. The average activity over 24 h was not different between treatments (P > 0·05). However, the ratio between average activity during the day v. at night was higher when cats were fed the dry diet (P = 0·030). Total water intake and urine volume increased when the canned diet was fed (P < 0·001). The similarity in total activity of the cats on the treatments indicates that dietary moisture or diet type did not have a major effect on these cats. However, the stronger diurnal activity patterns observed in the cats when they were fed the dry diet are intriguing and require further study.

scholarly journals Potential contribution of leisure activity to the energy expenditure patterns of sedentary populations

1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. E. Livingstone ◽  
J. J. Strain ◽  
A. M. Prentice ◽  
W. A. Coward ◽  
G. B. Nevin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
World Health ◽  
Energy Requirements ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Food And Agriculture ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Uk

Total daily energy expenditure (TEE) by the doubly-labelled (2H218O) water method and basal metabolic rate (BMR) by indirect calorimetry were measured in thirty-two healthy free-living adults in Northern Ireland. Habitual physical activity patterns in occupational and discretionary activities were assessed by interview questionnaire. Expressed as a multiple of BMR the TEE values for the sixteen males (1.88 (sd 0.28), range 1.44–2.57) and sixteen females (1.77 (sd 0.16), range 1.50–2.06) were compatible with current Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS; 1979) and Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization/United Nations University (FAO/WHO/UNU; 1985) estimates of energy requirements. The results suggest that discretionary physical activity is now emerging as an equally important determinant of energy expenditure in the UK as the occupational classifications currently used as the basis of DHSS (1979) and FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) recommendations for energy requirements. Therefore, realistically achievable inputs of recreational exercise can have a significant impact in counteracting low levels of energy expenditure which are associated with modern lifestyles and are implicated as a risk factor for coronary heart disease and obesity.

scholarly journals Does consuming breakfast influence activity levels? An experiment into the effect of breakfast consumption on eating habits and energy expenditure

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis G Halsey ◽  
Jörg W Huber ◽  
Tzetze Low ◽  
Chinwe Ibeawuchi ◽  
Polly Woodruff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Breakfast Consumption ◽  
Breakfast Skipping

AbstractObjectiveTo experimentally compare the effects of eating or skipping breakfast on energy expenditure, activity levels and dietary habits.DesignA randomised cross-over trial, lasting 2 weeks. Participants were provided breakfast during one week and were required to fast until mid-day during the other week.SettingUniversity campus.SubjectsForty-nine participants (twenty-six female and twenty-three male participants) were recruited. Food intake was monitored using food diaries, and energy expenditure was assessed using pedometers and heart rate monitors. Morningness–eveningness, physical activity and health were assessed using validated questionnaires.ResultsAcross all participants, daily energy expenditure did not differ between the two experimental conditions. Total energy intake over 24 h did not vary with condition (male participants: 8134 (sd447) kJ/d and 7514 (sd368) kJ/d; female participants: 7778 (sd410) kJ/d and 7531 (sd535) kJ/d, for the breakfast and no-breakfast conditions, respectively). However, when comparing habitual breakfast eaters with those with irregular or breakfast-skipping habits, it was found that male non-habitual breakfast eaters consumed significantly (P= 0·029) more energy during the breakfast condition. Furthermore, female participants who were habitual breakfast eaters were found to eat significantly (P= 0·005) more and later in the day under the no-breakfast condition.ConclusionsAlthough the suggestion that breakfast is a behavioural marker for appropriate dietary and physical activity patterns is not refuted by the present findings, our data suggest that the effect of breakfast may vary as a function of gender and morning eating habits, and thus there may be other mechanisms that link BMI and breakfast consumption behaviour.

scholarly journals Body composition and physical activity in New Zealand Maori, Pacific and European children aged 5–14 years

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 1133-1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine C. Rush ◽  
Lindsay D. Plank ◽  
Peter S. W. Davies ◽  
Patsy Watson ◽  
Clare R. Wall
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Body Fat ◽  
Fat Mass ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
The Body ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Fat Free Mass ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Doubly Labelled Water

Body fatness and the components of energy expenditure in children aged 5–14 years were investigated. In a group of seventy-nine healthy children (thirty-nine female, forty male), mean age 10·0 (sd 2·8) years, comprising twenty-seven Maori, twenty-six Pacific Island and twenty-six European, total energy expenditure (TEE) was determined over 10 d using the doubly-labelled water method. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) was measured by indirect calorimetry and physical activity level (PAL) was calculated as TEE:RMR. Fat-free mass (FFM), and hence fat mass, was derived from the 18O-dilution space using appropriate values for FFM hydration in children. Qualitative information on physical activity patterns was obtained by questionnaire. Maori and Pacific children had a higher BMI than European children (P<0·003), but % body fat was similar for the three ethnic groups. The % body fat increased with age for girls (r 0·42, P=0·008), but not for boys. Ethnicity was not a significant predictor of RMR adjusted for FFM and fat mass. TEE and PAL, adjusted for body weight and age, were higher in Maori than European children (P<0·02), with Pacific children having intermediate values. PAL was inversely correlated with % body fat in boys (r −0·43, P=0·006), but was not significantly associated in girls. The % body fat was not correlated with reported time spent inactive or outdoors. Ethnic-related differences in total and activity-related energy expenditure that might account for higher obesity rates in Maori and Pacific children were not seen. Low levels of physical activity were associated with increased body fat in boys but not in girls.

Differences of energy expenditure and physical activity patterns in subjects with various degrees of obesity

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 766-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulf Elbelt ◽  
Tatjana Schuetz ◽  
Isabelle Hoffmann ◽  
Matthias Pirlich ◽  
Christian Joseph Strasburger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Physical Activity Patterns

Estimated Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity Patterns of Adolescent Distance Runners

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joey C. Eisenmann ◽  
Eric E. Wickel
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Female Adolescent ◽  
Dietary Energy ◽  
Distance Runners ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Physical Activity Patterns ◽  
Males And Females

The purpose of this study was to examine the estimated total energy expenditure (TEE) and physical activity patterns of adolescent distance runners. Twenty-eight (20 male, 8 female) adolescent distance runners self-reported their daily physical activity with the Bouchard 3-d diary. Mean values for TEE, 57.4 ± 11.6 and 51.0 ± 9.8 kcal·kg−1·d−1, and activity energy expenditure (AEE), 26.7 ± 10.4 and 21.0 ± 8.8 kcal·kg−1·d−1, when expressed per kilogram body mass were not significantly different between males and females, respectively (P = 0.18). When expressed in absolute terms, TEE, 3609 ± 927 and 2467 ± 426 kcal/d, and AEE, 1688 ± 746 and 977 ± 269 kcal/d, were significantly higher in males than in females, respectively. The results document the energy expenditure and self-reported physical activity of adolescent distance runners and might be used to address recommendations for adequate dietary energy requirements in this group, which in turn is important for energy balance in the context of normal growth, health, and physical performance.

Energy expenditure and physical activity in patients with anorexia nervosa

2013 ◽  
Vol 121 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
U Elbelt ◽  
V Haas ◽  
T Hofmann ◽  
S Jeran ◽  
H Pietz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Energy Expenditure
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