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Physical activity has been instrumental in shaping the human body throughout evolution, but modern sedentary lifestyles and excessive caloric intake have contributed to chronic diseases. This study investigates the potential benefits of recreating the hunter–gatherer lifestyle, involving physical activity and caloric restriction on psychophysiological responses. The aim is to understand the evolutionary disparities between ancestral and modern lifestyles. Two male participants, one fasting and one control, were analyzed during a 4-day walking event without caloric consumption. Psychophysiological parameters such as body mass, cortical arousal, hand-grip strength, lower limb strength, heart rate variability, reaction time, hydration status, blood glucose and lactate levels, urine markers, sleep quality, pain perception, stress levels, and perceived exertion were measured. The fasting participant exhibited higher ratings of perceived exertion, stress, pain, and dehydration. They also experienced poorer sleep quality, higher Creatinkinase levels, greater protein presence in urine, decreased lower limb strength, significant weight loss, and increased lactate values. Heart rate variability did not differ significantly between the fasting and control participants. Recreating the hunter–gatherer lifestyle through physical activity and caloric restriction can have implications for enhancing performance and improving overall health. However, further research is needed to better understand the complex interplay of factors involved in the psychophysiological responses to such interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity has been instrumental in shaping the human body throughout evolution, but modern sedentary lifestyles and excessive caloric intake have contributed to chronic diseases. This study investigates the potential benefits of recreating the hunter–gatherer lifestyle, involving physical activity and caloric restriction on psychophysiological responses. The aim is to understand the evolutionary disparities between ancestral and modern lifestyles. Two male participants, one fasting and one control, were analyzed during a 4-day walking event without caloric consumption. Psychophysiological parameters such as body mass, cortical arousal, hand-grip strength, lower limb strength, heart rate variability, reaction time, hydration status, blood glucose and lactate levels, urine markers, sleep quality, pain perception, stress levels, and perceived exertion were measured. The fasting participant exhibited higher ratings of perceived exertion, stress, pain, and dehydration. They also experienced poorer sleep quality, higher Creatinkinase levels, greater protein presence in urine, decreased lower limb strength, significant weight loss, and increased lactate values. Heart rate variability did not differ significantly between the fasting and control participants. Recreating the hunter–gatherer lifestyle through physical activity and caloric restriction can have implications for enhancing performance and improving overall health. However, further research is needed to better understand the complex interplay of factors involved in the psychophysiological responses to such interventions.

Abstract Background High salt intake increases blood pressure (BP) and hypertension risk. This study aimed to examine association of urinary sodium excretion with BP and hypertension correlates among Cameroonian pygmies under hunter-gatherer subsistence mode and Bantus, living in urban area under unhealthy behavioral habits. Methods In this cross-sectional cluster sampling study, we randomly enrolled rural pygmies living in Lolodorf and urban Bantus living in Douala. The World Health Organization steps questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and lifestyle data. Height, weight, BP and single overnight spot urine samples were obtained in all participants. BP was measured in triplicate. Urinary sodium and potassium excretion was determined by flame photometry. Data were recorded and analyzed using SPSS 16.0. Results We included 150 Pygmies and 150 Bantus aged 38 ± 12 years and 33 ± 11 years, respectively (p

During the course of evolution, up until the agricultural revolution, environmental fluctuations forced the human species to develop a flexible metabolism in order to adapt its energy needs to various climate, seasonal and vegetation conditions. Metabolic flexibility safeguarded human survival independent of food availability. In modern times, humans switched their primal lifestyle towards a constant availability of energy-dense, yet often nutrient-deficient, foods, persistent psycho-emotional stressors and a lack of exercise. As a result, humans progressively gain metabolic disorders, such as the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, certain types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer´s disease, wherever the sedentary lifestyle spreads in the world. For more than 2.5 million years, our capability to store fat for times of food shortage was an outstanding survival advantage. Nowadays, the same survival strategy in a completely altered surrounding is responsible for a constant accumulation of body fat. In this article, we argue that the metabolic disease epidemic is largely based on a deficit in metabolic flexibility. We hypothesize that the modern energetic inflexibility, typically displayed by symptoms of neuroglycopenia, can be reversed by re-cultivating suppressed metabolic programs, which became obsolete in an affluent environment, particularly the ability to easily switch to ketone body and fat oxidation. In a simplified model, the basic metabolic programs of humans’ primal hunter-gatherer lifestyle are opposed to the current sedentary lifestyle. Those metabolic programs, which are chronically neglected in modern surroundings, are identified and conclusions for the prevention of chronic metabolic diseases are drawn.

During the course of evolution, up until the agricultural revolution, environmental fluctuations forced the human species to develop a flexible metabolism in order to adapt its energy needs to various climate, seasonal and vegetation conditions. Metabolic flexibility safeguarded human survival independent of food availability. In modern times, humans switched their primal lifestyle towards a constant availability of energy-dense, yet often nutrient-deficient, foods, persistent psycho-emotional stressors and a lack of exercise. As a result, humans progressively gain metabolic disorders, such as the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, certain types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer´s disease, wherever the sedentary lifestyle spreads in the world. For more than 2.5 million years, our capability to store fat for times of food shortage was an outstanding survival advantage. Nowadays, the same survival strategy in a completely altered surrounding is responsible for a constant accumulation of body fat. In this article, we argue that the metabolic epidemic is largely based on a deficit in metabolic flexibility. We hypothesize that the modern energetic inflexibility, typically displayed by symptoms of neuroglycopenia, can be reversed by re-cultivating suppressed metabolic programs, which became obsolete in an affluent environment, particularly the ability to easily switch to ketone body and fat oxidation. In a simplified model, the basic metabolic programs of humans’ primal hunter-gatherer lifestyle are opposed to the current sedentary lifestyle. Those metabolic programs, which are chronically neglected in modern surroundings, are identified and conclusions for the prevention of chronic metabolic diseases are drawn.

During the course of evolution, up until the agricultural revolution, environmental fluctuations forced the human species to develop a flexible metabolism in order to adapt its energy needs to various climate, seasonal and vegetation conditions. Metabolic flexibility safeguarded human survival independent of food availability. In modern times, humans switched their primal lifestyle towards a constant availability of energy-dense, yet often nutrient-deficient, foods, persistent psycho-emotional stressors and a lack of exercise. As a result, humans progressively gain metabolic disorders, such as the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, certain types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer´s disease, wherever the sedentary lifestyle spreads in the world. For more than 2.5 million years, our capability to store fat for times of food shortage was an outstanding survival advantage. Nowadays, the same survival strategy in a completely altered surrounding is responsible for a constant accumulation of body fat. In this article, we argue that the metabolic disease epidemic is largely based on a deficit in metabolic flexibility. We hypothesize that the modern energetic inflexibility, typically displayed by symptoms of neuroglycopenia, can be reversed by re-cultivating suppressed metabolic programs, which became obsolete in an affluent environment, particularly the ability to easily switch to ketone body and fat oxidation. In a simplified model, the basic metabolic programs of humans' primal hunter-gatherer lifestyle are opposed to the current sedentary lifestyle. Those metabolic programs, which are chronically neglected in modern surroundings, are identified and conclusions for the prevention of chronic metabolic diseases are drawn., Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed.