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Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure in Humans

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Human Physical Fitness and Activity

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Anthropology ((HBBE))

Abstract

This chapter examines physical activity and energy expenditure in humans. It provides a summary of the difficulties in measuring and comparing physical activity and energy expenditure across studies. Next, what is known about energy expenditure and physical activity in humans and other primates is briefly summarized. Overall, humans exhibit a wide range of physical activity levels (PALs) across different ecologies and modes of resource acquisition. This diversity supports the prediction that a flexible system has evolved that responds to the energetic demands of varying environments. A clear, predictable pattern does not emerge when comparing PAL across these dimensions and populations, even within similar modes of subsistence. Men are sometimes, but not always more active than women. Many agricultural populations exhibit seasonal variation in physical activity levels that unsurprisingly correlate with workload. Differences in physical activity are even observed within the same mode of food production. This variation suggests that there is not simply one level of physical activity that humans have evolved to perform. Instead, it suggests that humans flexibly respond to competing energetic demands across environments, across seasons, and across the life span to selectively exert energy when the adaptive benefits to doing so outweigh the costs, and otherwise conserve and/or redirect energy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Decreases in physical activity are clearly not the only factor leading to increased rates of overweight and obesity. An entire book could (and should) be dedicated to understanding energy balance, and the effects of diet and physical activity together for influencing human health and well-being, weight gain, and obesity. It is premature to conclude that the proportion of energy expenditure spent in active rather than sedentary activities does not contribute to weight gain, fat storage, and obesity.

  2. 2.

    It should be noted that PAL estimates were made using different methods of data collection, which can also lead to differences.

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  1. Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA

    Ann E. Caldwell

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Caldwell, A.E. (2016). Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure in Humans. In: Human Physical Fitness and Activity. SpringerBriefs in Anthropology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30409-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30409-0_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-30407-6

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