BETHESDA, MD (July 10, 2002) The results of the most extensive research investigation into the relationship between chronic health conditions and physical inactivity have been released by a team of "obesity sleuths." They conclude that today's skyrocketing levels of chronic diseases are due to the collision between the body's total gene complement of a set of chromosomes -- programmed 10,000 years ago to anticipate physical exertion, and the inactivity endemic to 21st century sedentary societies. Nutritional "thrifty genes" may further exacerbate the deterioration of the human body, which takes the form of common, chronic disorders, once thought to be rare.

The Study
The study entitled "Waging War on Physical Inactivity: Using Modern Molecular Ammunition Against an Ancient Enemy," is the latest report from the obesity research team of Frank W. Booth and Espen E. Spangenburg, both of the Departments of Biomedical Sciences and Physiology and the Dalton Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO; Manu V. Chakravarthy, of the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; and Scott E. Gordon, of the Departments of Exercise and Sports Sciences and of Physiology and the Human Performance Laboratory, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. Their study appears in the current edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, a publication of the American Physiological Society.

The team set out to identify the underlying genetic and cellular/biochemical bases of why a sedentary lifestyle produces chronic health disorders. They support the hypothesis that humans have inherited a genome programmed for physical activity by selective forces from the Late Paleolithic era (10,000 years ago), when physical activity was necessary for survival. Another associated hypothesis that was examined in this research effort is that a lack of physical activity leads to failure of the maintenance
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Contact: Donna Krupa
djkrupa1@aol.com
703-527-7357
American Physiological Society
15-Jul-2002

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