Althouse: "There's a perception that we sit way more than any other culture out there

August 13, 2018

"There's a perception that we sit way more than any other culture out there — or even any culture throughout time...."

"Anthropologist David Raichlen at the University of Arizona says that is not accurate.... Raichlen studies modern hunter-gatherers called Hadza, in Tanzania. They live primarily off wild foods, such as tubers, honey and barbecued porcupines. And to acquire this food, there's no doubt they are active.... On average, Hadza adults spend about 75 minutes each day exercising, Raichlen says. That amount is way more than most Americans exercise.... But... [a] few years ago, Raichlen and colleagues... strapped heart-rate monitors onto nearly 50 Hadza adults for eight weeks and measured how often each day, they were just, well ... sitting around. The results shocked Raichlen. 'The Hadza are in resting postures about as much as we Americans are,' he says. 'It's about 10 hours a day.'"

From "To Fix That Pain In Your Back, You Might Have To Change The Way You Sit" (NPR)(arguing that back pain comes not from sitting to much but sitting the wrong way, with a C-curved spine).

ADDED: Barbecued porcupines! Do they skewer the meat on the animal's own quills?

26 comments:

Ron said...: Them Pork-e-pine ribs leave your face looking like you got a snoot full of buckshot!; 8/13/18, 8:21 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: back pain comes not from sitting to much but sitting the wrong way, with a C-curved spine).

My wife got a recliner for herself, and later a recliner couch for my son. I find both of them unsitable. The back is far to vertical when not reclined. And the pivot point around which the back rotates is near the floor, so as you recline the back, the seat gets longer. So I have to choose between having my knee in the right place ( at the outer edge of the seat ) with a big gap behind my lower back, or have my hips in the right place ( with my butt all the way back against the back ) and the outer edge of the seat hitting my upper calves.

Is is so difficult to understand that a recliner should pivot the same place that you do, around the hip socket?; 8/13/18, 8:24 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Barbecued porcupines! Do they skewer the meat on the animal's own quills?

Hedgehogs are wrapped in clay, then baked. When done, crack open the clay, and the quills stay in the clay.

But porcupine quills are much longer, so it would take a lot more clay, and have to bake much longer, so I don't think this would work.; 8/13/18, 8:27 AM
Bob Boyd said...: How the Hadza tradition got started:

"What's for dinner?"

"You'd better sit down."; 8/13/18, 8:38 AM
Ryan said...: My back pain went away when I started lifting with barbells. Deadlifts and squats really helped.; 8/13/18, 8:39 AM
Bob Boyd said...: I forgot about my back pain the minute I bit into a barbecued porcupine.; 8/13/18, 8:42 AM
Bill R said...: We need a Rabbi. Wouldn't grilling a porcupine on it's own quills be like seething a kid in it's mother's milk?; 8/13/18, 8:46 AM
Rick.T. said...: What’s the difference between a BMW and a porcupine? A BMW has the pricks on the inside!; 8/13/18, 8:55 AM
Fernandinande said...: Improper sitting can cause a pain in your Bhutan.

I figgered the primitives, so much wiser than us in almost every way, didn't have back problems because they died too soon, but

"For example, there are four hunter-gathering groups (the Hadza, Ache, !Kung, and Hiwi) for which there are reliable estimates of age-specific mortality rates. Although average life expectancy at birth is only 34.5 years in these groups, those who survive to adulthood (age 15) can expect a long adult lifespan.

Life expectancy at age 15 is a mean of an additional 39 years (s.d. 5) such that the expected age at death is 54 years. Even more revealing is that life expectancy at 45 is more than two decades (mean=21 years, s.d 2.3). About 60% of hunter-gatherers born survive to age 15, but of those who survive, two thirds will survive to age 45 with an expected age at death of 66 years."

So 66% of 60% ~= 40% Hadza have a life expectancy of ~66 years.; 8/13/18, 8:57 AM
MacMacConnell said...: Most back pain is caused by weak stomach muscles forcing the lower back muscles to support the upper body mass alone. Back pain? Do some sit ups or leg lifts.; 8/13/18, 8:57 AM
clint said...: The difference isn't so much that we sit in chairs -- it's that we sit on toilets.

The whole third world practices their squats daily.; 8/13/18, 9:06 AM
Chris N said...: There goes my new hunter-gatherer ergonomic chair.

At $600 a pop, nimrods aren’t included!; 8/13/18, 9:13 AM
reader said...: I hate back pain, it can over shadow everything. For the last few years I exercise six days a week and three of those focus on my core (push ups, vertical leg raises, planks, sit ups). It didn't do much for my back ache. When the back of one of my calves went numb I finally went in for an MRI. I have a couple Tarlov cysts at L5 S1. A lot of people have them and they don't usually cause pain though mine are a little larger than average.; 8/13/18, 9:53 AM
Carol said...: The whole third world practices their squats daily.

In Barbarian Days,the author wrote when he was on a train through India, every time they'd cross a river or irrigation ditch he'd see someone squatting over it.

What a country!; 8/13/18, 10:25 AM
phantommut said...: "Barbecued porcupines! Do they skewer the meat on the animal's own quills?" That would be vicious.; 8/13/18, 11:12 AM
dreams said...: "Most back pain is caused by weak stomach muscles forcing the lower back muscles to support the upper body mass alone. Back pain? Do some sit ups or leg lifts."

Or just suck in your gut to strengthen your stomach muscles.; 8/13/18, 12:15 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: In anthropology class they told me hunter-gatherers only work for 20 hours a week, for sustenance, and spend the rest of the time at leisure.; 8/13/18, 12:28 PM
buwaya said...: They aren't fat.
That helps a lot.
They also have a low carb diet.

As for physical condition -
I have seen mountain tribesmen (agriculturalists!) tirelessly sprinting up their hills.
These are remarkably tough, agile people.; 8/13/18, 12:41 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/13/18, 1:43 PM
n.n said...: Sit in the passive tense. Fitness in the active sense. Health care precedes medical care and is a personal responsibility.; 8/13/18, 1:46 PM
n.n said...: There may be a correlation between the news cycle and unhealthy [sitting] habits.; 8/13/18, 1:52 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: It's funny how third-world POC always seem to do everything better than we, even simple things like sitting, yet they keep trying to adopt our ways, get Barcaloungers when they can, and even want to come live here, for some reason.; 8/13/18, 1:56 PM
buwaya said...: Its not an easy life, planting rice on a terraced hillside and having next to no disposable income.

Sitting at home in comfort watching TV seems like a good thing in comparison.

But hardship is better for the human animal, no matter what his preference.
Comfort, like alcohol and sugar, is a liar to the senses.; 8/13/18, 2:46 PM
Fritz said...: We ate more than a few porcupines when I was a poor graduate student in Oregon. Nice red meat, but it can taste a little piney if they've been eating a lot of Douglas Fir tree bark. At the time, there was a bounty on them, which you could collect by bringing the skin of the porcupine nose into the Douglas County courthouse. I never barbecued one, but than might be good way to hide the resiny taste.

Killing a porcupine is easy; they don't move very fast; just clubbing them with a big branch will suffice. But eating one is a bit of work. Skinning it is a delicate job, and loses about half the weight, and after gutting them, there's much less left than you might think.

I can see how hunter gatherers might find a porcupine a welcome meal.; 8/13/18, 5:15 PM
Trumpit said...: @Fritz,

You are a disgusting & cruel person. Killing animals is your thing. People like you shouldn't exist. God fucked up. I would outlaw the deplorable Trumptard party if I could. I'd take away your ammo in a heartbeat. Each bullet means death for some wild animal. You are a painful reminder of what human garbage helped erect Schlump president in 2016. Go away!; 8/14/18, 11:46 AM
James Graham said...: "Barbecued porcupines! Do they skewer the meat on the animal's own quills?"

I'm filing that with another animal question: Do vultures eat dead vultures?; 8/14/18, 2:28 PM