The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease by Daniel E. Lieberman

The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease Reviews

• 
  Amy Raby

  Best nonfiction book I've read in 2013. I've read Dawkins, Diamond, and Pinker, so I know a fair bit on this subject for a layperson, but this book had a lot of fascinating material I'd never been exposed to before. This book goes into great detail about our evolutionary ancestors, including why and how we developed the physical features we did, such as our efficient way of walking, our ability to run great distances without overheating, and our unique ability to throw objects with power and accuracy.
  
  The second half of the book discusses "mismatch diseases" -- problems caused by our evolutionary makeup having some incompatibilities with our current environment. Many of the usual suspects are discussed here, like heart disease and obesity and type 2 diabetes, but there is also discussion of nearsightedness, impacted wisdom teeth, flat feet, and back problems. Some of the greatest challenges our species faces are addressed in this book with wisdom and good sense.
• 
  Morgan Blackledge

  Crucial Read!
  
  The Story of the Human Body is Dr. Daniel Lieberman's plain spoken but powerful account of how the rise of bipedalism, the shift to a non-fruit-based diet, the advent of hunting and gathering, the rise of agriculture, the industrial revolution and the high tech revolution all shaped the key adaptations that typify the modern human body.
  
  If you've ever wondered why modern humans are such a sickly and chunky bunch, Lieberman's got a pretty satisfying answer for you.
  
  "we didn't evolve to be healthy, but instead we were selected to have as many offspring as possible under diverse, challenging conditions. As a consequence, we never evolved to make rational choices about what to eat or how to exercise in conditions of abundance and comfort".
  
  Lieberman's argument (in a nut shell) is that Humans evolved in an environment that necessitated eating as much as possible in order to build up fat reserves, so that we could either work our asses off to get more food, or lay low during the times when no food was available, all the while pumping out a steady stream of lil papooses.
  
  We evolved to be able to stalk and kill wild game in the 100 degree heat, drag that shit back to camp, and start all over again the next time you get hungry.
  
  So now fast forward to 2015, when you can take your air conditioned car to the Carls Jr. drive in and get a 3500 calorie meal for seven dollars that took a 350 calorie expenditure to earn.
  
  From this perspective it's pretty obvious that we are metabolically mismatched for our current environment. This has lead to what Lieberman terms "mismatch diseases" i.e. diseases that occur simply because our body is not adapted to our world of cushy excess.
  
  Mismatch diseases occur due to:
  1. a surfeit of energy (eating too much).
  -obesity
  -diabetes
  2. under use (not exercising enough).
  -osteoporosis
  -lower back pain
  
  Lieberman argues that we often treat the symptoms of these issues and ignore the causes, leading to a state of what he terms "dysevoloution", a state of affairs in which disadvantageous traits are nurtured and conserved.
  
  In other words, the proper interventions for obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis and chronic lower back pain are behavioral interventions that target the cause of these issues e.g. eating less and exercising more.
  
  Lieberman is not naive about what it will realistically take to change our behaviors though. To the contrary, he's well aware of how hard it is, mostly due to millions of years of evolutionary conditioning. However, it's not hopeless, and the last few chapters propose possible interventions.
  
  Lieberman's summary argument is; if culture got us in to this mess, than culture can get us out of it. In Lieberman's opinion, the best interventions for mismatch diseases are public health policies that assist us in making better choices.
  
  Lieberman joins the likes of Sunstein and Thaler (Nudge) in his endorsement for Libertarian (soft) Paternalism. Libertarian paternalism refers to social policies designed to help people who behave irrationally (against their better interests), while interfering only minimally with people who behave rationally.
  
  One obvious example being the laws that regulate cigarette smoking. We tax the crap out of cigarettes in order to dissuade people from smoking. But we don't make it illegal for adults to smoke, provided they don't do it near people who would prefer to not die of lung cancer.
  
  Lieberman proposes similar "nudges" to inhibit consumption of junk food and encourage exercise.
  
  If you're not already convinced, you're just going to have to trust me on this one. This is the users manual for the modern human. Everyone should be equipped with this information. Skip it at your own risk.
  
  Five Stars!
• 
  Mario Tomic

  Had a great time with the audiobook version! The book was so interesting I went through the whole thing in 3 days. The book explains how the human body evolved over millions of years. It goes into some of the incredible adaptations we've gained to survive on this planet and those that we've lost in the modern age. Highly recommended!
• 
  Rachel Williams

  This book makes a decisive case that making informed decisions about diet and lifestyle is only possible through the lens of evolutionary history. If you want to know where your body comes from, you need to understand its evolutionary history. Why do humans stand and walk on two legs? Why are we weak compared to other animals? Why are our legs and feet shaped the way they are? Why does our spine have a special S-curve? All of these questions can only be answered through an understanding of evolution.
  
  Now ask, why do people suffer from obesity, type-2 diabetes, tooth decay, metabolic syndrome, flat feet, nearsightedness, lower back pain, and sleep disorders? Daniel Lieberman argues that these questions can only be fully answered by understanding the evolutionary history of our species. Thus, Lieberman argues these "disease of affluence" are examples of a "mismatch disease" i.e. a disease that is primarily caused by our bodies not being sufficiently adapted to novel gene-environment contexts. We know they're mismatch diseases primarily because they used to be rare and are almost unheard of in hunter-gatherer populations.
  
  Lieberman argues that all of these diseases are in some sense a result of cultural evolution speeding ahead of natural evolution with the result that have humans manufactured a comfy and satisfying environment that is paradoxically unhealthy. It turns out that surrounding ourselves with unlimited sources of junk food is a bad idea because humans are programmed to crave food with dense amounts of fat, sugar, starch, and salt.
  
  Lieberman is no luddite, and certainly doesn't advocate a return to the caves and giving up on modern science and technology. His position is more nuanced than many of the extreme black and white positions out there, as befitting the complexity of gene-environment interaction. In many senses, the agricultural and industrial revolutions have propelled humans to new heights of health and longevity, with modern science curing diseases and fixing people better than ever before. At the same time, we are living longer but spending many of those years suffering from chronic, preventable diseases. The paradox of the modern world is reduced mortality but greater morbidity i.e. living longer, but spending more of those years with an illness of some sort. Lieberman argues that too often the incentives of modern medicine aim at fixing symptoms but not the underlying structural causes: the toxically comfortable environments we built for ourselves.
  
  
• 
  Gary Beauregard Bottomley

  I loved the first half of this book. It's hard to find a good book on human evolution. The author steps you through the evolutionary development of man from 2.3 million years ago to 250 thousand years ago and does this part of the book as good as or better than any other book on the topic. He principally looks at why the homo species decided to walk upright and become bipedal and considers the relative advantages and the disadvantages that this brought. It's hard to find good books on that topic. I never grow tired about learning about Neanderthals, Denisovans and early man. He actually develops a theory that our evolution and development is best thought of in terms of calorie (energy) consumption and usage a pretty good theory at that.
  
  At near the midway part of the book, the author says that he used to stop his lectures on human evolution at 40 thousand years ago. I wish he stopped the book at that point, but, unfortunately, he did not.
  
  He states that the agricultural and industrial revolution are the worst things that ever happened to us and he seems to mean it. (He quotes Jared Diamond to that effect, but Diamond might say that but doesn't dwell on that in his much better books than this one). The author tells the listener that modern hunter gatherer groups live longer and with less pain when you factor out tobacco and alcohol. All the negative things the author says about our diet and exercise (lack thereof) is true, but we are learning and we are moving ahead and adapting culturally.
  
  I'm a rational optimist. Humans are dynamic and we are learning as we progress and we just don't stand still as more data becomes available to us. The author is right, adult onset diabetes (Type II) is a scourge for our bodies, but we are changing are behaviors and we are learning from our past mistakes.
• 
  Gretchen Rubin

  I was surprised (and relieved) by what a great read this book was. I knew I'd be interested in the subject, but I thought that getting through the chapters might be a bit of a slog. Nope, a great reading experience. I bought another book by Lieberman, in fact.
• 
  Jasmine

  This is one of the best non-fiction books I read. Highly recommended if you are interested in evolutionary history and how our modern life style often creates mismatches.
• 
  Denise

  This is hands down one of the best books I have EVER read.
  
  It was first recommended to me by a highly respected individual in the fitness industry who owns and runs his own spine clinic as well as teaches science based fitness workshops across the country. Unexpectedly my "Genetic and Evolutionary Principles of Health" class had it as assigned reading (for obvious reasons) and not only did I get to finally read this amazing book, but also participate in in-depth discussions about the ideas presented.
  
  Daniel Lieberman is a master at coherently guiding the readers through this sometimes dense material. The beginning focuses on what evolution is and how evolution has influenced the development of our species. It takes a more anthropological view at first, going through our ancient ancestors and why certain adaptations were naturally selected for (the answer is almost always 'Climate Change'). From there he talks about both the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution and how that has changes the way evolution impacts our bodies, lives and communities. Lastly, he takes a more medical approach talking about our modern society and the "mismatch diseases" that have arises due to our poorly adapted bodies in these rapidly changing environments.
  
  From back pain, plantar fasciitis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, allergies, running injuries, osteoporosis, obesity, and more...he talks about it all! I have been eager to find a book to recommend to my personal training clients so they can understand their bodies and the dysfunction that arises because of their modern behavior, and this hit the nail on the head. He literally pulled the words right out of my mouth and I often found myself reading later chapters and thinking "Thats exactly what I was telling so and so last week!!". He is no alarmist with how we as a society approach our "mismatch diseases". Instead he explains the science behind it all in easy to follow sections. He gives just enough information for you to understand the complexity of the interactions, but holds off on enough scientific jargon that the average reader would easily find their way through. Only the last chapter is dedicated to the "Okay, so now what?" feeling most people have about our current healthcare environment. Even there he presents rational arguments and predicts your line of reasoning to help guide you to his primary message. That we as a society need to start thinking of our healthcare, governments, communities, and personal habits from an evolutionary perspective.
• 
  Rohini

  Reading in the time of Corona.
  
  The timing of finally getting to read this book is just perfect. I first picked it up way back in 2014 and couldn't get through it due to the natural selection pressure from the environment of an evolving academic career (using the same tone of the author here ;)). Of course, in the meantime, I read a couple of novels to balance the time I gave to reading information-dense subject related scientific articles. I picked it up again and finished it in 2 weeks!
  
  Daniel E. Lieberman starts by walking through our body design, how we evolved from apes, and what the recent archaeological discoveries have added to our understanding of a 6 million-year-old process. The first section of the book talks about the biomechanics of bipedalism that allowed us to wander in search of a varied diet and better lifestyle amidst climate shifts- all of which helped or were triggered as a result of our increase in brain size/volume.
  
  For the last couple of centuries, starting with the industrial revolution, improvements in food processing, and breakthroughs in disease biology/medicine, we have come a long way in adapting to anything that environment brings on to counter our lives. This led to a general increase in the human life span but unfortunately, our bodies hadn't yet completely adapted to aging. If only we had the DNA repair mechanisms of a bacteria, the mutability of a virus, slow metabolic rates of turtles, or generally a great oxidative damage attenuation mechanism that enabled us to live longer without any undesirable consequences. Prof Lieberman talks in detail about the 'mismatch disorders' that arise due to this unnatural prolongation of our lives. We have yet to decode the basis of diseases linked to aging such as Cancer, Metabolic disorders, autoimmune conditions, etc.
  
  And finally, he talks about something that I happened to grow a parallel interest for the last 3 years- Fitness (a lot on Running- which was a pleasant surprise), and Nutrition. All is not lost. Now, that is a very optimistic denouement for this time capsule of a book.
  
  As a researcher who spent the last 1.5 decades trying to understand human genetics and disease biology, I gained a lot of insight from this book. Thank you, Prof. Lieberman!
• 
  Mutlugun

  Yaslanmadan once okunmasi gereken kitaplardan. Vucudumuz nasil yasama uygun ? Biz nasil yasiyoruz ? Sorularina biraz uzunca bir cevap
• 
  Karl

  Here's one of my favorite quotes: "Like it or not, we are slightly fat, furless, bipedal primates who crave sugar, salt, fat, and starch, but we are still adapted to eating a diverse diet of fibrous fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, tubers, and lean meat. We enjoy rest and relaxation, but our bodies are still those of endurance athletes evolved to walk many miles a day and often run, as well as dig, climb and carry." This goes on, but I think you can get a good idea of the idea he's trying to get across. I would agree that many details of the theme are repeated, but that points to the simplicity of the core idea. Many of us are not living as our bodies are evolved to be lived in.
• 
  Andrés Astudillo

  Holy fuck. Evolutionary logic couldnt get any better. Im so happy to say that now, as im writing this, is in development something called "evolutionary medicine", which is nothing more than medicine as we know it, through the evolutionary lens.
  
  I've read some reviews that really lack comprehension. Some say that the author hates farming or the world as it is today because he once quoted Jared Diamond on farming. Turns out, he's spitting truth after all. Why? let me ask you something. Have you ever watched a goat, a chimpanzee, a bonobo, a cat, or a dog, a squirrel, grow their own food? They don't, because they can't. Homo Sapiens is the only species that managed to change the environment; acres of plantations, in order, and controlled, are not a natural scenario, its actually something -unnatural-. Consequently, everything after this, is also unnatural, such as calling someone using electronics, or eating a doner kebab in Ecuador, using a credit card to buy something made out of hydrocarbon derivated materials... nothing in our modern world is natural, but our bodies are still the same. Biological evolution goes on, but it is really, really slow compared to cultural and technological evolution which is, by contrast, really fast.
  
  What do we have now?
  We have breast cancer, prostate cancer, a whole bunch of new cancers, we have myopia, we have third molars, and no matter what Social Justice Scholarship tells you, the highest rate of fat people EVER IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANKIND. Yes, a lot of fat people, obese and morbid people that can't even lift a ten pound dumbbell. More than one billion people is overweight, and yes, they are gonna day sooner.
  
  The book is really, really awesome, full of facts, and is gonna make you see the world in another way. I dont even wanna work sitting 8 hours straight anymore, I'll see what I can do. The book clarifies evolution and what it has done to the human body, and mentions -mismatches-, or what evolutionary biologists call "novelties" in the human world. This is everywhere, from porn, to microwaved food.
  
  If you feel that the books is repetitive, or boring (which is not), maybe you need to read more this kind of books, because this themes are relatively new. Remember that Darwin and Wallace talked about this in 1850, and evolutionary psychology was born in 1995. Evolution is happening right know but we cannot see it, nor feel it, "natura not facit saltum"; it is a long, slow process, and our bodies are the product of millions of years of several adaptations, from mythocondria to ATP fueling our cells. Novelties are called that way because they appeared, and our bodies just lack the time to adapt to them. Even reading is something no human being has ever done before the date of 5000 years of the discovery of the oldest evidence of writing, no one has ever done that before that date. There are many novelties or mismatches that are happening right now and that we need to comprehend. The message is: keep moving, and avoid processed food, as well as smoking, a lot of alcohol and too much comfort.
  
  We are made of stardust, and we were made to endure life. Once you acknowledge that, you may feel that you are unique, and really special. Science is going to save us, always give it a chance, do not deny it, postmodernism denies it, and look at how the world seems inhabited by mad people.
• 
  Nelson Zagalo

  As the title implies, “The Story...”, serves as a light introduction to the subject of the evolutionary body we humans possess. The writing is highly accessible, able to produce an informed idea of the past, present and possible futures for our bodies and us. As with other academic books for non-academics, treating vast subjects in introductory manner, it can fall short for people with great interest in the topic that have already read other books. In this case, I’m not a specialist in the domain, but having read previously various books from Richard Dawkins, Jared Diamond, Steven Pinker or Denis Dutton made me feel like reading nothing new.
  
  Anyhow, Daniel Lieberman is a well know professor at Harvard, with a strong research record on evolution and the human body, which per se makes this book a must read. Even if not reading complete new arguments, we’re reading them from the source, which is not only more authentic but ensuring. As we know, evolutionary biology has always been seen with a cast of doubt, mainly because it’s very difficult to empirically demonstrate the facts, however Lieberman does a really great job in supporting with theoretical evidence all the current theories.
  
  The most relevant for me in the book was its second part, which Lieberman dedicates to the discussion of human body diseases, presenting them mainly as problems of "mismatch” between the body evolution and the cultural production of life conditions, as food, automation, clothes, etc. Not being surprising, is great food for thought, mainly about our daily lives and the happiness values we seem to use as goals and creed.
• 
  Tanja Berg

  This is a book of how the human body became ... well... human, as opposed to ape-like. Thus it doesn't dwell too much on organs, except for the brain. It's more about how we developed arched feet, long legs, big butts (in comparison to say, chimpanzees), why we are predisposed to be fat and such things. When the author is done with this, he moves on to "mismatch" diseases, the result of our bodies not fitting to its current environment. Typical mismatch diseases are flat feet, being short-sighted and diabetes 2. Fun, interesting and easy to read.
• 
  Atila Iamarino

  Um dos melhores livros que já li, pelo conteúdo. Muita coisa nova, ótimos insights evolutivos e muita discussão boa sobre nosso passado evolutivo e principalmente as implicações da cultura atual sobre nosso corpo. Um livro que com certeza ainda vou revisar muito por todo tipo de conteúdo que tem.
• 
  Jenn

  Wonderful exploration of the physical and cultural evolution. A must read for anyone who owns a body.
• 
  Laura Siegel

  A fascinating account of our diets, our bodies, our lifestyles from an evolutionary perspective.
  
  According to the author our bodies have not evolved to handle the high amounts of sugar we eat, the sedentary lives we live, the lack of sleep we get, and the general stress we put our body under.
  
  As a result we see relatively new diseases escalating - cardio-vascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, breast and colon cancer, auto-immune diseases, depression. These diseases were not found in early man and began to appear with the farming and industrial revolution.
  
  The author feels that if medicine looks at these diseases from an evolutionary perspective we might prevent more diseases rather then treat them.
  
  This author has a unique way of reinforcing the information so it does not seem redundant, technical or boring.
  
  The reader of this audiobook is excellent.
• 
  Eoin Flynn

  One of the most fascinating books I've ever had the pleasure to read. Absolutely jam-packed with interesting facts.
  
  I know modern life is killing me, as is the fact that the western world worships at the alter of capitalism (which is very good, but for very few), but this book puts genetic and medical metrics around precisely how. This empowers one to avoid it.
  
  It also provides scientific info of more mundane use, around health, diet and fitness.
  
  All of this is packaged in quite pleasant writing and occasional moments of levity.
  
  It is a science book, so don't go in expecting light reading, but if you're willing to put in the effort this is very rewarding.
  
  Some books I've read have changed how I live - Population 10 billion by Danny Dorling for example - this was one of those.
  
  Really fantastic. Highly recommended.
• 
  Marie

  Raamat, mis selgitab haiguste teket läbi evolutsioonilise vaatenurga st meil on laias laastus 3 kategooriat - haigused millegi üleküllusest, haigused millegi puudusest ning haigused uudsustest… Ja samas rõhutatakse, et me ei pea nüüd sellepärast kõik paleo dieeti järgima, lemmikutest ketsidest loobuma ja ainult rätsepa istes istuma; aga lihtsalt teades, et milleks me oleme kohastunud ja milleks mitte, siis vastavale ennetusele rõhku pannes meil ei oleks vaja nii paljude nn mismatch haigustega üldse jännata… (millegi pärast “koopainimestel” ei ole leitud nii laialdaselt osteoporoosi või diabeeti või probleemseid tarkusehambaid või lühinägevust (kuidas iganes nad seda ka teavad) ja palju muud).
  
  Mugavused tunduvad ikka parema elu poole suunavat, aga kas alati ikka on nii? Oleme ainult harjunud nii mõtlema… Ja tegelikult me ju kõik teame, et toitumine ja liikumine ja uni ja blablabla, sest asi pole teadmistes vaid meid ümbritsevas kultuurilises taustas ja sisemistes uskumustest, mis teevad ka oma evolutsiooni…
  
  PS Essa raamat, mille suutsin trennis käies läbi kuulata (ikka kulus neid trenne).
• 
  Richard Thompson

  Interesting and well written, but a bit disappointing. If you aren't already familiar with the material, the first half of the book provides good background on how the human body developed through the process of evolution -- bipedalism, the development of the brain, the creation of culture, etc. I thought that there should have been more about gene/culture co-evolution, which is touched on only briefly. And there is nothing on epigenetics and gene expression, which is hugely important in relation to the topics discussed here.
  
  The second half of the book focuses on "mismatch"diseases, in which modern humans are prone to different forms of sickness and disability that are caused in substantial part by a mismatch between our evolutionary heritage and contemporary human lifestyles. The big target here is obesity, but also diabetes, heart disease, cancer and more. Again, its interesting material if you don't already know it, but not much that was new to me.
• 
  Han_na

  Onpa vaikea arvioitava. Ei muuten ollut lyhyt historia tämä. Ensimmäinen osuus oli mielenkiintoinen, vaikkakin äärettömän yksityiskohtainen kuvaus ihmisen evoluutiosta. Loppupuolella minut yllätti, miten syvälle mentiinkin sitten erilaisiin elintasosairauksiin - joihin en kyllä koskaan olisi likinäköisyyttä ajatellut kuuluvaksi!
  
  Opin uusia sanoja, kuten kulttuurievoluutio ja sopeumasairaus, sekä sain valtavasti uutta tietoa mm. fysiologiasta (esim se, että miehillä ja naisilla on eri määrä lantionikamia, oli uutta - tätä tietoa en kyllä tosin pystynyt löytämään suomenkielisestä internetistä, mutta englanniksi heti). Yllättävä, mutta tarkemmin ajateltuna looginen tieto oli, että maanviljelykseen siirtyminen lyhensi ihmisten keskipituutta.
  
  Eniten ehkä petyin siihen, miten monesti kuultuja ja epäinnovatiivisia Liebermanin ehdotukset meidän kaikkien terveyden pelastamiseksi olivat.
  
  Kaikin puolin uskottava, tieteellinen esitys ihmiskehon evoluutiosta ja ilman toisen ja kolmannen osan kummallista mielipidetykitystä olisi ollut ihan viiden tähden teos.
• 
  Elspeth

  Fascinating book! Daniel Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard, is not only an expert on this topic, but this book was a pleasure to read. Lieberman states at the outset that his account of human evolution is written with an eye towards what this means for human health today. In other words, his aim at the end of the book is to address the question: How did the evolutionary pressures of our ancestors influence the form and function of our bodies in contemporary society?
  
  In the first part of the book, Lieberman explores the “nuts and bolts” of human evolution, focusing on the transition from chimpanzee-like apes, to early bipedal hominids, to bigger brained Homo Erectus, and finally modern Homo sapiens. The second part of the book is about how the advent of agriculture altered human health, for both better and worse. Here Lieberman documents how the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural life was a boon for our species, allowing populations to explode and civilization to develop, but interestingly, the fossil evidence reveals that hunter gathers were often taller, healthier, and longer-lived than early farmers. While serving as the seedbed of human civilization, agriculture also created Malthusian conditions for mass famine and disease—as populations exponentially increased, towns formed with people crowded in close proximity to one another, and entire populations became dependent on a small set of staple crops. Lieberman doesn’t present the rise of new health problems as a critique of civilization. Rather, it’s a trade-off. Hunter-gatherers didn’t have an easy or bucolic existence (sorry Rousseau), but civilization brought with it many new ills like famine, disease, and other maladies associated with over population, poor sanitation, decreased activity, and a less fibrous or diversified diets. (For instance, hunter-gathers rarely suffered from cavities, which became a serious problem with the advent of agriculture.) Nonetheless, technological innovation and civilization brought many benefits, which in turn allowed our species to multiply and settle all corners of the Earth.
  
  The third part of the book is about how “cultural evolution” has outpaced “biological evolution,” resulting in what Lieberman calls "mismatch diseases" and "dysevolution." Although we have succeeded in curing the worst diseases of the past (i.e. small pox, measles, the plague, etc), we are now suffering at alarming rates from serious conditions that were rare among our ancestors. While our bodies mainly evolved to meet demands placed on hunter-gatherers, today we enjoy the amenities of 21st century society. This includes using elevators and cars rather than walking, eating fast food as opposed to hunting and gathering (or even harvesting) our own calories, working at office desks instead of spending our days more actively, having fewer children and nursing them for shorter periods of time, and so on. As a result of “cultural evolution” our daily lives are arguably much more “comfortable,” but our bodies have a tendency to become overweight, our teeth get cavities, type 2 diabetes is prevalent, cardiovascular problems have increased, myopia is a norm, breast and ovarian cancer skyrocketed, and our muscles in our feet and back have become weak. That’s what Lieberman means by the term “mismatch disease”: Something uncommon among our early ancestors, but has become a widespread malady as a result of our technological and cultural “progress.”
  
  Lieberman’s solution to this “dysevolution” is not to return to our primitive past, but rather to universalize healthcare, improve medicine, and reform education about health. Paralleling Rousseau (but without idealizing the past), the end of the book reminds me of a throw back to the progressive era. Lieberman bemoans how difficult it would be for the government to compel people to exercise regularly, eat healthier diets (more veggies, lean meats, whole grains; less sugar and simple starches), abolish smoking and over drinking, and get proper healthcare. To his credit, Lieberman doesn’t suggest that we become cavepeople again, or celebrate returning to a Paleolithic lifestyle, but he argues that we need to take steps to reduce these “mismatch” maladies. An interesting book!
  
  
  
• 
  Justin Powell

  What an amazing and wonderful book! Lieberman weaves together our evolutionary history and its influences on our modern day life. Dealing primarily with the negative aspects, he shows that much of our modern environment enables bad behavior or poor choices that leads to the many ailments of affluence.
  
  Part one is a crash course on our evolutionary history from apes to modern day genus Homo. Part two goes through the following agriculture and industrial revolutions that not only changed us for better or for worse, but also set the groundwork for the environment we currently occupy. Not only has the natural environment been changed, but so has our cultural environment been changed. The third and final part is on how we learn to cope with these mismatch diseases and where to go from here.
  
  I'm very impressed that the book didn't fall a part as many science for a popular audience books tend to do. Though anti-government fundamentalists might find some of his recommendations and thoughts on solving the problems to be petrifying, I would say most will find them reasonable and commonsense. The need for collective action both on the individual level (for those most informed or possessing the right information) and on the group level via government nudges is something he lands upon at the end, but doesn't unpack too much. Regardless, an acceptance that the government already does influence our diets via subsidizing farmers "to grow so much corn that gets turned into high fructose corn syrup, corn-fed beef, and other unhealthy food" would be a big step. I thought it great he brings this up in part three.
  
  This will NOT bring about an overnight improvement upon your health. It WILL however potentially enlighten many who opt to read it and digest the authors thoughts. Taking into account our evolved history is the first step to living healthier lives in the present.
• 
  Emanuela

  Molto interessante in tutte e tre le sue parti: Scimmie e uomini, L'agricoltura e la rivoluzione industriale, Il presente e il futuro.
  Di tutte, la prima, è quella che mi ha finalmente dato una visione organica e completa sull'evoluzione dell'uomo in senso genetico e biomeccanico, dove alla fine prevale la specie Homo Sapiens con la caratteristiche funzionali del cacciatore-raccoglitore. Condizione, questa, che permane da circa sei milioni fino a una decina di migliaia di anni fa con l'inizio della pratica dell'agricoltura.
  
  Il nostro organismo, a cominciare dalla dieta ma anche in termini di funzioni motorie, è strutturato per quel tipo di vita. L'agricoltura ha introdotto problematiche da mismatch, ovvero adattamenti culturali che entrano in conflitto con la genetica, intesa come disposizione a un certo tipo di alimentazione e un sistema locomotore adatto alla continua migrazione.
  L'era moderna, poi, accentua ancora di più questa incoerenza mettendo a disposizione un'infinità di alimenti e abitudini che causano disfunzioni fisiologiche e che generano una quantità preoccupante di patologie, senza dimenticare inoltre la sedentarietà, spesso forzata e l'assunzione di posture sbagliate che agiscono sull'equilibrio dell'apparato motorio.
  
  Il libro è scritto molto bene, chiaro, ricco di dettagli, a tratti divertente e, proprio perché insiste sul concetto di evoluzione culturale dell'uomo, mette di fronte alla responsabilità di riconsiderare le nostre origini e strutture, per voler più bene al nostro corpo, senza la quale, può esserci solo disevoluzione.
  
  Lo raccomando caldamente a tutti quanti abbiano interesse verso la salute complessiva, il movimento umano, l'educazione.
  
• 
  Alejandro (IG: todoporleer)

  Hay libros que valen cada céntimo que valga componer una página que sale de la mente de un profesor e investigador como el autor. Toda una vida dedicada a investigar cómo y por qué el cuerpo es como es y lo más importante, cómo y por qué nos hemos abandonado tanto.
  
  No saldremos biólogos evolutivos, ni ingenieros biomecánicos, ni nutricionistas, ni expertos en salud pública, porque para ello, como es evidente, se necesitan años y años de formación.
  Pero eso no quita para salir mejor instruido y con la capacidad de comprender un poco de todo aquello que la evolución ha conseguido hacer en nuestro cuerpo y de qué manera a través de los distintos cambios climáticos, ambientales y culturales nos ha favorecido y/o perjudicado nuestra salud.
  
  Me gusta como expone el autor los temas a tratar, sobre todo las enfermedades de la opulencia (muy prevenibles) , en ningún momento te dice que debes hacer, ni como comer, ni cuanta actividad física. Él argumenta la manera en que el cuerpo está mejor diseñado para correr largas distancias y esfuerzo vigoroso y no tanto para estar horas acomodados. También cómo está predispuesto a ganar grasa como almacén de energía en tiempos pasados difíciles, cómo se regula el apetito, el funcionamiento de la digestión y un largo etcétera.
  No se olvida del dolor lumbar, la miopía, las muelas del juicio, el cáncer y muchas otras dolencias y enfermedades causadas por lo que él llama desajuste evolutivo.
  
  En definitiva, una bonita excursión que te hará moverte más y comer mejor si no lo haces ya.
• 
  João

  Como temos o corpo que temos? Não, não foi Deus que o criou ao sexto dia, embora o Génesis seja um dos mais belos texto de ficção já escritos. Daniel Lieberman escreve não-ficção, acredita na ciência e na evolução natural das espécies, e dá-nos uma descrição simultaneamente rica, apaixonante e simples sobre a história do corpo humano, explicando-nos como foi evoluindo para se adaptar ás forças de seleção natural que o foram moldando ao longo dos milénios, e como, face ao progresso aceleradíssimo da tecnologia humana, primeiro com a revolução agrícola e depois com a industrial, o nosso corpo não foi conseguindo adaptar-se com velocidade suficiente e é agora severamente molestado por uma alimentação rica em açúcares e hidratos de carbono, pela vida agitada e poluída das cidades e pelo nosso sedentarismo e falta de exercício físico.
  
  É sempre fascinante compreender como é que o nosso corpo funciona e porquê, e desse conhecimento podem e devem resultar alterações de hábitos e comportamentos que nos proporcionem uma vida melhor, mais saudável e mais prolongada. Se este livro resulta excelente a explicar-nos o corpo que temos (partes I e II), deixa um sabor a pouco quando se trata de nos esclarecer e aconselhar em relação ao que fazer com ele (parte III), mas como se diz, "o ótimo é inimigo do bom" e este livro é muito bom!
• 
  Boudewijn

  What a refreshing book this is, it opened a whole new world for me. Lieberman's message is clear and well-written: modern life has created mismatches between our over-the-centuries evolved abilities and adaptations which has enabled and created so called mis-matched diseases, which place a great burden on our health. The whole book made me fall in one discovery after another and decisively earns my first 5-star rating in 2018.
• 
  Rebecca

  Very persuasive arguments. I don't agree with everything (YOU ARE NOT GOING TO TAKE MY CARBS FROM ME) and at times seems a little worshipful of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, but from a scientific point of view it's hard to refute the argument he puts forward regarding many of the illnesses that are suddenly so prevalent today.