Stories by Herman Pontzer

Herman Pontzer is a professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University. He studies how evolution has shaped human physiology and health. He is author of Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Stay Healthy, and Lose Weight (Avery, 2021). Credit: Nick Higgins

Physiology

New Human Metabolism Research Upends Conventional Wisdom about How We Burn Calories

Metabolism studies reveal surprising insights into how we burn calories—and how cooperative food production helped Homo sapiens flourish

December 13, 2022 — Herman Pontzer

Evolution

Humans Evolved to Exercise

Unlike our ape cousins, humans require high levels of physical activity to be healthy

January 4, 2019 — Herman Pontzer

Evolution

The Exercise Paradox

Studies of how the human engine burns calories help to explain why physical activity does little to control weight—and how our species acquired some of its most distinctive traits

January 17, 2017 — Herman Pontzer