What Exercise Does (And Doesn't Do) For Your Metabolism with Evolutionary Anthropologist Herman Pontzer

Herman Pontzer is a professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health at Duke University, a leading researcher on human energy metabolism, and the author of Burn and Adaptable.

In this conversation, Zoe and Brendan ask Herman whether anyone should genetically test a four-year-old for sprint potential (no, just take him outside and see if he likes running). They also get into why the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania burn about as many calories a day as sedentary adults in industrialized countries, and what happened to the metabolisms of runners who ran a marathon a day from Los Angeles to Washington, DC. Herman explains the ceiling on human endurance and why pregnancy sits right up against it, why exercise is great for nearly everything except boosting your metabolism, and why the longevity influencer starter pack of testosterone, growth hormone, and protein might be exactly backwards. Plus: the high-altitude gene Himalayan populations inherited from a Paleolithic fling with Denisovans.