Dysevolution
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
The Human Body Is Not Designed for Our Lifestyle
When I point out that humans are perfect barefoot runners or that our ancestors efficiently ran and walked barefoot for three million years, many people counter in good faith that “we’ve evolved,” “only some individuals can run barefoot,” “we have different biomechanics,” etc. It’s easy to understand what they mean. Sadly, while our lifestyle has significantly evolved, our bodies have not. That’s what Harvard professor of anthropology Daniel Lieberman calls “dysevolution,” which is the cause of our current problems, including the unprecedented health crisis.
In other words, the hunter-gatherer body we inherited from our ancestors is not designed for the current dominant lifestyle based on physical inactivity and permanent access to abundant food, hence the increasing aggravation of chronic diseases and the resulting vulnerability to pandemics, the worsening of the global warming and air pollution, and the acceleration of the depletion of natural resources. And our response is usually to treat symptoms, instead of the causes of these problems. Unsurprisingly, by ignoring the causes, we not only limit the awareness and the willingness to solve the problems, but aggravate them.
Understanding how we got into this vicious cycle is the key to get out: Our ancestors developed long-distance running abilities and the technique of persistence hunting so that they could catch enough animals to satisfy their high needs for energy because of the increased brain, their comparatively more frequent procreation—female chimps typically give birth only once every five years—, the practice of breastfeeding, etc. This also explains why they developed an irresistible appetite for energy-rich food, high in fat and sugar, which was a competitive advantage for hunter-gatherers, but turned into a serious problem when food became abundant and procuring it no longer required persistence hunting or any other kind of physical activity.
Since we can’t change our bodies, we should readapt our lifestyle to our bodies, by adopting practices that would bring us closer to the way our ancestors lived, especially the modern equivalent of persistence hunting, that is barefoot long-distance running. “It’s a question of how alarmed we have to get before we act,” warned Professor Lieberman. Hopefully, it won’t be too late by then. Hence, it’s about saving not only the planet and some species, but also Homo sapiens, arguably the most forgotten endangered animal species.
Paradoxically, it’s more comfortable and healthy to adopt in the 21st century the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. But it’s neither about deserting our homes and heading back, for instance, to the African savanna or the European caves—many of them are underwater anyway—, nor about hunting and killing animals—we now have abundant food. It’s about adopting the best practices of our ancestors so that we get a chance to survive in the destructive world we’ve created.
I started in 2001 with muscle strengthening and cardio workouts in a gym club in Managua, Nicaragua, and I later stopped accepting champagne and any other alcohol, even in official or diplomatic events. I kept exercising when I moved to France, to Australia and to the United States where, after seeing near my residence in Lincoln Park thousands of runners of the 2008 and 2009 Chicago Marathon, I concluded that if so many people can do it, everyone can do it.
So I joined them for the 2010 Chicago Marathon. I did the race wearing the full conventional outfit, plus an ankle brace and a knee brace for additional protection, which didn’t work. I decided in 2015 to get even closer to our roots, so I started to walk and run barefoot, which I keep doing as much as I can, weather and circumstances permitting. The conditions were perfect for instance for the 2020 Los Angeles Marathon, which I ran almost like our ancestors, completing the race pain and injury free, and therefore ready to keep running.
My book Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
The Human Body Is Not Designed for Our Lifestyle
When I point out that humans are perfect barefoot runners or that our ancestors efficiently ran and walked barefoot for three million years, many people counter in good faith that “we’ve evolved,” “only some individuals can run barefoot,” “we have different biomechanics,” etc. It’s easy to understand what they mean. Sadly, while our lifestyle has significantly evolved, our bodies have not. That’s what Harvard professor of anthropology Daniel Lieberman calls “dysevolution,” which is the cause of our current problems, including the unprecedented health crisis.
In other words, the hunter-gatherer body we inherited from our ancestors is not designed for the current dominant lifestyle based on physical inactivity and permanent access to abundant food, hence the increasing aggravation of chronic diseases and the resulting vulnerability to pandemics, the worsening of the global warming and air pollution, and the acceleration of the depletion of natural resources. And our response is usually to treat symptoms, instead of the causes of these problems. Unsurprisingly, by ignoring the causes, we not only limit the awareness and the willingness to solve the problems, but aggravate them.
Understanding how we got into this vicious cycle is the key to get out: Our ancestors developed long-distance running abilities and the technique of persistence hunting so that they could catch enough animals to satisfy their high needs for energy because of the increased brain, their comparatively more frequent procreation—female chimps typically give birth only once every five years—, the practice of breastfeeding, etc. This also explains why they developed an irresistible appetite for energy-rich food, high in fat and sugar, which was a competitive advantage for hunter-gatherers, but turned into a serious problem when food became abundant and procuring it no longer required persistence hunting or any other kind of physical activity.
Since we can’t change our bodies, we should readapt our lifestyle to our bodies, by adopting practices that would bring us closer to the way our ancestors lived, especially the modern equivalent of persistence hunting, that is barefoot long-distance running. “It’s a question of how alarmed we have to get before we act,” warned Professor Lieberman. Hopefully, it won’t be too late by then. Hence, it’s about saving not only the planet and some species, but also Homo sapiens, arguably the most forgotten endangered animal species.
Paradoxically, it’s more comfortable and healthy to adopt in the 21st century the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. But it’s neither about deserting our homes and heading back, for instance, to the African savanna or the European caves—many of them are underwater anyway—, nor about hunting and killing animals—we now have abundant food. It’s about adopting the best practices of our ancestors so that we get a chance to survive in the destructive world we’ve created.
I started in 2001 with muscle strengthening and cardio workouts in a gym club in Managua, Nicaragua, and I later stopped accepting champagne and any other alcohol, even in official or diplomatic events. I kept exercising when I moved to France, to Australia and to the United States where, after seeing near my residence in Lincoln Park thousands of runners of the 2008 and 2009 Chicago Marathon, I concluded that if so many people can do it, everyone can do it.
So I joined them for the 2010 Chicago Marathon. I did the race wearing the full conventional outfit, plus an ankle brace and a knee brace for additional protection, which didn’t work. I decided in 2015 to get even closer to our roots, so I started to walk and run barefoot, which I keep doing as much as I can, weather and circumstances permitting. The conditions were perfect for instance for the 2020 Los Angeles Marathon, which I ran almost like our ancestors, completing the race pain and injury free, and therefore ready to keep running.
My book Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
