You may say that, through evolution, human strength has improved over time. However, studies show it hasn’t. As a matter of fact, researchers say that it has declined. Doctor Colin Shaw from University of Cambridge says that we’re definitely weaker now than our species were before. That is to say that our ancestors were much stronger than we are. Researchers say that this rate of decline in muscular and skeletal capacity is too fast. Dr. Shaw further adds that our ancestors would outperform even the best athletes of today, which is ironic because our present world offers an abundance of nutrients and rigid training to athletes.

Alison Macintosh, a colleague of Dr. Shaw, agrees and says that when people of Central Europe underwent the transition phase from hunting-gathering people to agricultural people, their strength and mobility declined. In a study made by Macintosh, it suggested that an ordinary male farmer’s ability to move 7000 years ago was very similar to today’s cross-country runner.

>>> BMI Affects Advertising Comprehension for Children

>>> Napoleon Bonaparte: The Legend of a Powerful Leader

>>> King Arthur: The Life of a Man, Myth, Legend

A lot of factors can be blamed for such drastic decline. As industrialization boomed, man’s inactivity increased. The development of technology definitely makes man’s life easier; from there, man evolves into a human being almost entirely dependent on machines. Automation makes man’s life sedentary. Humans have no more need to hunt for food, gather wood to create fire, walk miles to go from one point to another, haul heavy loads, or travel to communicate. Technology has certainly made the world a more comfortable place for man to live. This comfort and lack of required physical work have led to lowered bone density and osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, and a host of obesity-related diseases.

The learning point is that the modern man has limited the challenges available to him. This has made him significantly feebler and less healthy than his ancestors. It is man’s choice and ability to adapt to technology and history, which determines his quality of life – including fitness. Health experts suggest we need to look into the hunter-gatherers’ lifestyle, especially their exercise and eating patterns.

By Daniel

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *