Health Insurance Daily

We're Born to Walk

Our genes demand exercise, and that's at odds with our modern lifestyle, which increasingly does not. Evolutionary biologists theorize that a genetic hunger for physical activity comes from our hunter-gatherer ancestors who survived to pass on their DNA to us, as their sluggish comrades starved to death, were annihilated by predators, or simply flunked out in the mating game. But for the 40 to 50 million sedentary Americans who carry the greatest burden of chronic disease and for the rest of us who are at risk, this theory has taken on lifesaving importance. Researchers have recently discovered a bevy of genes, ones geared to make healthier, sturdier, longer-living humans, that do their job only if stimulated by an appropriate dose of physical activity.

Article can be viewed in its entirety at U.S. News & World Report.

posted by Mike @ 11:02 AM