Where does the term “hunter-gatherer” come from?
Our ancestors were real hunters and gatherers. Even the Neanderthals went hunting and gathered food. But just a few thousand years ago, in what we know as the Stone Age, our ancestors were on the move to find food and socialize. Researchers know reliably that people were forced to travel long distances to hunt or to gather supplies and fuel.
Food consisted of what was collected along the way: nuts, berries, fruit, fish and meat, and if it was seasoned at all, it was herbs. People walked an average of three kilometers just to quench their thirst from a water source. People also had to move from one place to another for interpersonal contact or, very fundamentally, for reproduction. In this sense, our ancestors really did live very healthily.
Hunters and gatherers become sedentary – what this means for us
Over the course of these many thousands of years, the human body has adapted to constant movement - and still needs it today. However, the manufacture of tools, agriculture and animal husbandry, and the associated settlement, led to a massive change in the way of life from nomads to farmers. Over time, and in recent years at an ever faster pace, the need for movement has decreased.
Today we live in a time of division of labor. Physical labor is usually done by men, while women do lighter housework. Collecting food and clothing is no longer necessary as our ancestors did. Agriculture or simply being a farmer is no longer financially attractive for many in the civilized or western world. Today, people only go hunting and into the forest as a leisure activity. And thanks to technological development and a thriving economy, we now have many things that make our lives easier but not necessarily healthier.
Transportation then – now
At the beginning of the last century, people still got around on foot or on horseback, but today we travel by car or train. To get from one floor to the next, people now take the elevator instead of the stairs as they used to. Office work that used to be done standing up at a standing desk is now done at a PC workstation. There is a shop for all groceries. And many purchases are made online and delivered by parcel service.
This can be too much for evolution : human development or adaptation to new conditions takes thousands of years and many generations. Comfort may be all well and good, but our bodies are still used to movement and need it. The body expresses this through pain, discomfort, excess weight and other diseases that come with the modern, unhealthy lifestyle.
The hunter-gatherer is getting fat – and needs exercise
In the western world, entire societies are becoming obese and nutrition institutes are booming because people no longer know intuitively which foods are good for them. Despite or perhaps because of all the changes, people today are more dependent on exercise than ever before. Many people do sport or at least try to. Even though the days of hard physical work are over, there are still opportunities to exercise even in office jobs or when working standing up. The quality of the exercise is important. It is all about natural, intuitive and spontaneous movement.
Move while sitting
Aeris offers ergonomic office chairs for work and home, such as the Aeris Swopper and Aeris 3Dee or the active standing chair Aeris Muvman. These chairs encourage and promote intuitive movement. Of course, this is by no means the amount of movement that our ancestors had, but it is a step in the right direction. At least you can train muscles and movements while sitting and thus prevent one-sided strain that leads to chronic ailments.
