Hunter-gatherer past shows our fragile bones result from physical inactivity since invention of farming

http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/hunter-gatherer-past-shows-our-fragile-bones-result-from-physical-inactivity-since-invention-of

Latest analysis of prehistoric bones show there is no anatomical reason why a person born today could not develop the skeletal strength of a prehistoric forager or a modern orangutan. Findings support the idea that activity throughout life is the key to building bone strength and preventing osteoporosis risk in later years, say researchers.

Sitting in a car or in front of a desk is not what we have evolved to do
Colin Shaw

New research across thousands of years of human evolution shows that our skeletons have become much lighter and more fragile since the invention of agriculture - a result of our increasingly sedentary lifestyles as we shifted from foraging to farming.

The new study, published today in the journal PNAS, shows that, while human hunter-gatherers from around 7,000 years ago had bones comparable in strength to modern orangutans, farmers from the same area over 6,000 years later had significantly lighter and weaker bones that would have been more susceptible to breaking.

Bone mass was around 20% higher in the foragers - the equivalent to what an average person would lose after three months of weightlessness in space.

After ruling out diet differences and changes in body size as possible causes, researchers have concluded that reductions in physical activity are the root cause of degradation in human bone strength across millennia. It is a trend that is reaching dangerous levels, they say, as people do less with their bodies today than ever before.
- See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/hunter-gatherer-past-shows-our-fragile-bones-result-from-physical-inactivity-since-invention-of#sthash.r7ZlCAWX.dpuf

Interesting read Yoly, pretty much "use it or lose it" springs to mind. Evolution works by selective mutation over many generations. The same works in reverse !

mo1905 wrote:Interesting read Yoly, pretty much "use it or lose it" springs to mind. Evolution works by selective mutation over many generations. The same works in reverse !

It's the same with muscle, nothing shrinks muscle like inactivity whatever your diet.

Movement can only be good. Any movement is preferable to no movement. Even those who recuperate after illness are encouraged to move at the earliest opportunity.

I do worry about the younger generation with technology being so much a part of their lives will this encourage or dis-courage movement?

Feet were made for walking but fingers on keyboards, as she sits typing LOL ! But seriously with computer games, texting etc. ...... some time should still be given to exercise. Or am I overly worrying?

I just wonder what their bone mass will be like? The job market over the years has changed enormously and with the employment situation in many countries not that brilliant at the moment will this too play its part?

All the best Jan