CURRENT TOPICS & OPINIONS
Can sedentary behaviour be considered a cultural maladaptation? Daniel Wadsworth, Institute of Food Nutrition and Human Health at Massey University in New Zealand; Mikell Gleason, Warnell School of Forestry at the University of Georgia in Athens; and Lee Stoner, School of Sport and Exercise at Massey University in New Zealand, investigate whether sedentarism is a cultural maladaptation of Western society.
The survival of our Late Palaeolithic ancestors (50,000–10,000 BC) depended on hunting and gathering – a lifestyle which was maintained for some 7 million years.1 Then, within the last 10,000 years, some cultures turned to food production: domesticating wild animals and plants and eating the resulting livestock and crops. This shift led to settlements, denser populations, food surpluses and subsequently to nonfood producing specialists – the ingredients for a civilized yet sedentary society. The laureate Tim Flannery2 argues that one of the key elements of culture is ‘... the embodiment, in beliefs and customs, of actions that help people survive in their particular environment’. Flannery goes on to say that maladapted cultures ‘... are dramatically incompatible with the environment they find themselves in ...’. Taking this into consideration, can the rise in contemporary sedentarism,
as long as their parents.9 Moreover, these co-morbid conditions contribute not only to a decreased lifespan but also to a decreased quality of life.10,11 Increasing rates of chronic diseases are not only placing a burden at an individual level but also a societal level through increased economic burden.12,13 particularly in Western nations, be conThis burden continues to rise, with sidered a suitable adaptation to the envichronic diseases, including obesity and ronment we find ourT2DM selves in, or is it a malad(previously aptation? This communiknown as Increasing rates of cation will present arguchronic diseases are not adult-onset ments for and against diabetes) sedentarism as a cultural only placing a burden at occurring maladaptation, followed an individual level but from an by concluding remarks. also a societal level increasingly younger through increased FOR age.12 For economic burden The overall genetic New Zealand make-up of Homo alone sapiens has changed (estimated little during the past population 4.4 million), the total cost of 10,000 years.3 That is, we are still physical inactivity was estimated to be genetically programmed for a physically NZD$1.3b for the year 2010, active, hunter-gatherer lifestyle which representing just less than 1% of New conserves energy stores in times of Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP; feast, and subsequently, our current 0.7%).13 These costs are separated into genome is maladapted to a sedentary direct health costs associated with lifestyle. It is postulated that treatment in the health-care system, and contemporary chronic health disorders indirect health costs associated with lost are driven by the incompatibility between work days, living with disability/disease lifestyles and environments in which and dying prematurely. These costs are humans currently live.4 Indeed, physical purely economic and do not reflect the inactivity leads to increased risk of social costs on individuals and hypertension, obesity and type 2 communities, including family members diabetes mellitus (T2DM).5,6 These who subsequently become caregivers. conditions independently and additively increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk,7 even in children and adolescents.8,9 AGAINST In fact, Homo sapiens have been a very The prevalence of obesity and CVD has successful species. Through culture, we become so pervasive that for the first time, the current generation of children in have managed to adapt to every kind of the United States are not expected to live environment and every kind of resource
20 Perspectives in Public Health l January 2014 Vol 134 No 1
Copyright © Royal Society for Public Health 2013 SAGE Publications Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at Bibliothekssystem der Universitaet Giessen on April 17, 2015 ISSN 1757-9139 DOI: 10.1177/1757913913514701
CURRENT TOPICS & OPINIONS across the world. Our brains have evolved to master complex problem solving that does not depend solely on physical prowess. Successful survival in 21st-century Western culture depends instead on manipulation of data: modern values – related to convenience, speed, innovation, freedom, individualism and control over ourselves, other people and the environment – instead depend heavily on technology and intellectual prowess. These values have led us to create a built environment that consequently encourages a sedentary lifestyle. Moreover, the daily physical activity that was so integral to our Late Palaeolithic ancestors’ existence4 is simply not feasible with the time demands of many careers in Western society. Sedentary behaviour cannot be considered a cultural maladaptation if it is reinforced by the drive of a scientist to discover a new medical cure, a nurse or doctor to provide the best health care possible for their patients or even a city banker to best provide for his family. Darwin postulated the theory of survival of the fittest, something unquestionably evident in our ancestors’
ability to escape life-threatening danger or adequately provide for their clan.14 Throughout the ages, and across species, the capacity of a specific phenotype to prosper and continue in future generations has been dependent upon its ability to survive challenges, with the ‘weakest’ being ruthlessly eliminated by nature.14 However, such are the advancements in the understanding and techniques of medical science and health care in today’s progressive Western society that this has ceased to be the case. Consequently, it is no longer survival of the fittest, but of the smartest or wealthiest- that is, those who can access best health care. Therefore, individuals are able to dedicate more time to advancement of their career, family or even society as a whole, and thus endure a more sedentary lifestyle, safe in the knowledge that should they fall ill, they are likely to be able to access the requisite health care and knowledge to treat their ailments.
maladaptation. We contest that at an individual level, the typical contemporary Homo sapien living in a Western society is well-adapted to his or her environment. No longer does survival of the fittest rule, but rather the survival of the most intelligent, opportunistic and/or wealthiest. However, at the societal level, sedentary Homo sapiens are not well-adapted to their environment; such individuals are placing an unfair burden on society both economically and socially. Therefore, the question is not limited to that of individual cultural maladaptation per se, but rather should be expanded to include a moral question as to the obligations of individuals to society, especially in a cultural context that privileges individual rights.
Acknowledgements D.W., M.G. and L.S. aided with the design and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. D.W. is the guarantor. All authors gave final approval for publication.
CONCLUSION Strong arguments have been presented for and against sedentarism as a cultural
References 1. Diamond JM. Farmer power. In Diamond JM (ed.) Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years. London: Vintage Books, 2005 [1997], pp. 85–92. 2. Flannery TF. The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People. Sydney, Australia: Reed New Holland, 1994. 3. Eaton SB, Konner M, Shostak M. Stone agers in the fast lane: Chronic degenerative diseases in evolutionary perspective. The American Journal of Medicine 1988; 84(4): 739–49. 4. Booth FW, Chakravarthy MV, Gordon SE, Spangenburg EE. Waging war on physical inactivity: Using modern molecular ammunition against an ancient enemy. Journal of Applied Physiology 2002; 93(1): 3–30. 5. Church T. Exercise in obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases 2011; 53(6): 412–8. 6. Long AN, Dagogo-Jack S. Comorbidities of diabetes and hypertension: Mechanisms and
approach to target organ protection. Journal of Clinical Hypertension 2011; 13(4): 244–51. 7. Nakagami T, Qiao Q, Tuomilehto J, Balkau B, Tajima N, Hu G et al. Screen-detected diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia as predictors of cardiovascular mortality in five populations of Asian origin: The DECODA study. European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation 2006; 13(4): 555–61. 8. Reinehr T, Kiess W, de Sousa G, Stoffel-Wagner B, Wunsch R. Intima media thickness in childhood obesity: Relations to inflammatory marker, glucose metabolism, and blood pressure. Metabolism 2006; 55(1): 113–8. 9. Olshansky SJ, Passaro DJ, Hershow RC, Layden J, Carnes BA, Brody J et al. A potential decline in life expectancy in the United States in the 21st century. The New England Journal of Medicine 2005; 352(11): 1138–45. 10. Brettschneider C, Leicht H, Bickel H, Dahlhaus A, Fuchs A, Gensichen J et al. Relative impact of
multimorbid chronic conditions on health-related quality of life – Results from the multicare cohort study. PLoS One 2013; 8(6): e66742. 11. Sullivan PW, Ghushchyan V, Wyatt HR, Wu EQ, Hill JO. Impact of cardiometabolic risk factor clusters on health-related quality of life in the U.S. Obesity 2007; 15(2): 511–21. 12. Hammond RA, Levine R. The economic impact of obesity in the United States. Diabetes Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity 2010; 3: 285–95. 13. Auckland Council WRC, Wellington Regional Strategy Committee. The Costs of Physical Inactivity: Toward a Regional Full-Cost Accounting Perspective. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland Council, Waikato Regional Council, Wellington Regional Strategy Committee, 2013. 14. Darwin C. The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection. 6th ed. London: Watts & Co., 1929.
January 2014 Vol 134 No 1 l Perspectives in Public Health 21 Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at Bibliothekssystem der Universitaet Giessen on April 17, 2015
Can sedentary behaviour be considered a cultural maladaptation? Daniel Wadsworth, Institute of Food Nutrition and Human Health at Massey University in New Zealand; Mikell Gleason, Warnell School of Forestry at the University of Georgia in Athens; and Lee Stoner, School of Sport and Exercise at Massey University in New Zealand, investigate whether sedentarism is a cultural maladaptation of Western society.
The survival of our Late Palaeolithic ancestors (50,000–10,000 BC) depended on hunting and gathering – a lifestyle which was maintained for some 7 million years.1 Then, within the last 10,000 years, some cultures turned to food production: domesticating wild animals and plants and eating the resulting livestock and crops. This shift led to settlements, denser populations, food surpluses and subsequently to nonfood producing specialists – the ingredients for a civilized yet sedentary society. The laureate Tim Flannery2 argues that one of the key elements of culture is ‘... the embodiment, in beliefs and customs, of actions that help people survive in their particular environment’. Flannery goes on to say that maladapted cultures ‘... are dramatically incompatible with the environment they find themselves in ...’. Taking this into consideration, can the rise in contemporary sedentarism,
as long as their parents.9 Moreover, these co-morbid conditions contribute not only to a decreased lifespan but also to a decreased quality of life.10,11 Increasing rates of chronic diseases are not only placing a burden at an individual level but also a societal level through increased economic burden.12,13 particularly in Western nations, be conThis burden continues to rise, with sidered a suitable adaptation to the envichronic diseases, including obesity and ronment we find ourT2DM selves in, or is it a malad(previously aptation? This communiknown as Increasing rates of cation will present arguchronic diseases are not adult-onset ments for and against diabetes) sedentarism as a cultural only placing a burden at occurring maladaptation, followed an individual level but from an by concluding remarks. also a societal level increasingly younger through increased FOR age.12 For economic burden The overall genetic New Zealand make-up of Homo alone sapiens has changed (estimated little during the past population 4.4 million), the total cost of 10,000 years.3 That is, we are still physical inactivity was estimated to be genetically programmed for a physically NZD$1.3b for the year 2010, active, hunter-gatherer lifestyle which representing just less than 1% of New conserves energy stores in times of Zealand’s gross domestic product (GDP; feast, and subsequently, our current 0.7%).13 These costs are separated into genome is maladapted to a sedentary direct health costs associated with lifestyle. It is postulated that treatment in the health-care system, and contemporary chronic health disorders indirect health costs associated with lost are driven by the incompatibility between work days, living with disability/disease lifestyles and environments in which and dying prematurely. These costs are humans currently live.4 Indeed, physical purely economic and do not reflect the inactivity leads to increased risk of social costs on individuals and hypertension, obesity and type 2 communities, including family members diabetes mellitus (T2DM).5,6 These who subsequently become caregivers. conditions independently and additively increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk,7 even in children and adolescents.8,9 AGAINST In fact, Homo sapiens have been a very The prevalence of obesity and CVD has successful species. Through culture, we become so pervasive that for the first time, the current generation of children in have managed to adapt to every kind of the United States are not expected to live environment and every kind of resource
20 Perspectives in Public Health l January 2014 Vol 134 No 1
Copyright © Royal Society for Public Health 2013 SAGE Publications Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at Bibliothekssystem der Universitaet Giessen on April 17, 2015 ISSN 1757-9139 DOI: 10.1177/1757913913514701
CURRENT TOPICS & OPINIONS across the world. Our brains have evolved to master complex problem solving that does not depend solely on physical prowess. Successful survival in 21st-century Western culture depends instead on manipulation of data: modern values – related to convenience, speed, innovation, freedom, individualism and control over ourselves, other people and the environment – instead depend heavily on technology and intellectual prowess. These values have led us to create a built environment that consequently encourages a sedentary lifestyle. Moreover, the daily physical activity that was so integral to our Late Palaeolithic ancestors’ existence4 is simply not feasible with the time demands of many careers in Western society. Sedentary behaviour cannot be considered a cultural maladaptation if it is reinforced by the drive of a scientist to discover a new medical cure, a nurse or doctor to provide the best health care possible for their patients or even a city banker to best provide for his family. Darwin postulated the theory of survival of the fittest, something unquestionably evident in our ancestors’
ability to escape life-threatening danger or adequately provide for their clan.14 Throughout the ages, and across species, the capacity of a specific phenotype to prosper and continue in future generations has been dependent upon its ability to survive challenges, with the ‘weakest’ being ruthlessly eliminated by nature.14 However, such are the advancements in the understanding and techniques of medical science and health care in today’s progressive Western society that this has ceased to be the case. Consequently, it is no longer survival of the fittest, but of the smartest or wealthiest- that is, those who can access best health care. Therefore, individuals are able to dedicate more time to advancement of their career, family or even society as a whole, and thus endure a more sedentary lifestyle, safe in the knowledge that should they fall ill, they are likely to be able to access the requisite health care and knowledge to treat their ailments.
maladaptation. We contest that at an individual level, the typical contemporary Homo sapien living in a Western society is well-adapted to his or her environment. No longer does survival of the fittest rule, but rather the survival of the most intelligent, opportunistic and/or wealthiest. However, at the societal level, sedentary Homo sapiens are not well-adapted to their environment; such individuals are placing an unfair burden on society both economically and socially. Therefore, the question is not limited to that of individual cultural maladaptation per se, but rather should be expanded to include a moral question as to the obligations of individuals to society, especially in a cultural context that privileges individual rights.
Acknowledgements D.W., M.G. and L.S. aided with the design and critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content. D.W. is the guarantor. All authors gave final approval for publication.
CONCLUSION Strong arguments have been presented for and against sedentarism as a cultural
References 1. Diamond JM. Farmer power. In Diamond JM (ed.) Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years. London: Vintage Books, 2005 [1997], pp. 85–92. 2. Flannery TF. The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australasian Lands and People. Sydney, Australia: Reed New Holland, 1994. 3. Eaton SB, Konner M, Shostak M. Stone agers in the fast lane: Chronic degenerative diseases in evolutionary perspective. The American Journal of Medicine 1988; 84(4): 739–49. 4. Booth FW, Chakravarthy MV, Gordon SE, Spangenburg EE. Waging war on physical inactivity: Using modern molecular ammunition against an ancient enemy. Journal of Applied Physiology 2002; 93(1): 3–30. 5. Church T. Exercise in obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases 2011; 53(6): 412–8. 6. Long AN, Dagogo-Jack S. Comorbidities of diabetes and hypertension: Mechanisms and
approach to target organ protection. Journal of Clinical Hypertension 2011; 13(4): 244–51. 7. Nakagami T, Qiao Q, Tuomilehto J, Balkau B, Tajima N, Hu G et al. Screen-detected diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia as predictors of cardiovascular mortality in five populations of Asian origin: The DECODA study. European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation 2006; 13(4): 555–61. 8. Reinehr T, Kiess W, de Sousa G, Stoffel-Wagner B, Wunsch R. Intima media thickness in childhood obesity: Relations to inflammatory marker, glucose metabolism, and blood pressure. Metabolism 2006; 55(1): 113–8. 9. Olshansky SJ, Passaro DJ, Hershow RC, Layden J, Carnes BA, Brody J et al. A potential decline in life expectancy in the United States in the 21st century. The New England Journal of Medicine 2005; 352(11): 1138–45. 10. Brettschneider C, Leicht H, Bickel H, Dahlhaus A, Fuchs A, Gensichen J et al. Relative impact of
multimorbid chronic conditions on health-related quality of life – Results from the multicare cohort study. PLoS One 2013; 8(6): e66742. 11. Sullivan PW, Ghushchyan V, Wyatt HR, Wu EQ, Hill JO. Impact of cardiometabolic risk factor clusters on health-related quality of life in the U.S. Obesity 2007; 15(2): 511–21. 12. Hammond RA, Levine R. The economic impact of obesity in the United States. Diabetes Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity 2010; 3: 285–95. 13. Auckland Council WRC, Wellington Regional Strategy Committee. The Costs of Physical Inactivity: Toward a Regional Full-Cost Accounting Perspective. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland Council, Waikato Regional Council, Wellington Regional Strategy Committee, 2013. 14. Darwin C. The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection. 6th ed. London: Watts & Co., 1929.
January 2014 Vol 134 No 1 l Perspectives in Public Health 21 Downloaded from rsh.sagepub.com at Bibliothekssystem der Universitaet Giessen on April 17, 2015
