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The Calorie Counter
Article

The Calorie Counter

Evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer busts myths about how humans burn calories – and why

Science, 2021


Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Scientific
  • Eye Opening
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

Exercise doesn’t move the needle much in terms of the number of calories people burn each day, according to research by Duke University biological anthropologist Herman Pontzer. This may seem like discouraging news for people struggling to lose unhealthy body fat, but Pontzer’s findings also illuminate how factors such as stress, immune system response and simple body maturation processes all play significant parts in energy use over a human lifetime.

Take-Aways

  • Biological anthropologist Herman Pontzer’s research focuses on how humans burn calories.
  • Pontzer’s group found that, on average, exercise doesn’t help people burn more energy than sitting.
  • Pontzer embraced self-sufficiency, based on a life in Pennsylvania’s Appalachian woods.

About the Author

Ann Gibbons has served as writer on human evolution for Science magazine for more than a decade, and has taught science writing at Carnegie Mellon University. She is the author of The First Human.


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