The Misunderstood Science of Metabolism

Burn

'Pontzer's findings have huge implications for our attitudes to exercise, diet and public health' Mark Webster, Sunday Times 
 
 A myth-busting tour of the body's hidden foundations from a pioneering evolutionary biologist 
 
 'Public health strategies stubbornly cling to the simplistic armchair engineer's view of metabolism, hurting efforts to combat obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and the other diseases that are most likely to kill us' 
 
 Herman Pontzer's ground-breaking research has revealed how, contrary to received wisdom, exercise does not increase our metabolism. Instead, we burn calories within a very narrow range: nearly 3,000 calories per day, no matter our activity level. 
 
 In this book, he draws on twenty years of cutting-edge science to take a closer look at what happens to the energy we consume. Burn explores the ways in which metabolism controls every aspect of our health - from fertility to immune function - and reveals the truth about the dynamic system that sustains us. 
 
Filled with facts and memorable anecdotes, this book will change the way you think about food, exercise and what really matters for your health.

Pontzer's findings have huge implications for our attitudes to exercise, diet and public health

Ground-breaking, fascinating, important . . . we were astounded

A fun, fast-paced, eye-opening, and innovative book that will revolutionize how you think about the energy that fuels your body and everything you do

Daniel E. Lieberman, author of Exercised and The Story of the Human Body

Burn is science writing at its best... will reshape what you thought you knew about how our metabolisms work

Alex Hutchinson, New York Times bestselling author of Endure

Burn will make you question what you think you know about metabolism and your waistline

Stephan Guyenet, PhD,  author of The Hungry Brain

Herman Pontzer is one of the most gifted science writers of our time

Kelly McGonigal, PhD, author of The Joy of Movement

Herman Pontzer

Ambitious, controversial, there's a line of humour running through it too . . . every “miraculous protein robot”, as Pontzer calls us, should read the book . . . I learned a lot and greatly enjoyed the tour

An engrossing, richly informative exploration of human biological diversity . . . it challenges us to rethink universal health benchmarks

Remarkable . . . takes the provocative ideas about metabolism and many others and puts them into the broader context of how evolution has shaped human bodies

Adaptable is ambitious, wide-ranging, and fun to read. Pontzer has a gift for explaining complicated and nuanced topics in fresh ways, and he tackles all the big questions about how our bodies work with a delicate—and entertaining—touch

Alex Hutchinson, author of Endure

Pontzer has written a dazzling guide to the human body, in all its weird and wonderful glory. This is the fascinating story of how our bodies—products of evolutionary history and genes, environment and culture—work and why they differ. Brimming with wit and wisdom, Adaptable is essential reading for anyone interested in how we humans came to be the way we are

Kate Wong, senior editor at Scientific American

Adaptable is the book I've been waiting for. It answers questions that nag us today about the human condition and describes how we got here. It’s an engaging and down-to earth read that bristles with up-to-date and thoughtfully provocative scholarship

Nina G. Jablonski, author of It's Just Skin, Silly!

The Surprising Science of Human Diversity

As an evolutionary anthropologist conducting ground-breaking research with human populations around the globe, Herman Pontzer has come to see much more clearly how our genes and environments combine to shape our bodies and our health: for better or worse. In this book, he takes us on a tour of the human body and the surprising ways it can change in response to its environment: from the Andean groups who have developed increased lung capacity to the Sama divers who have larger spleens. He also highlights the critical ways we misinterpret biological adaptations: from healthcare, race and IQ to sex and gender. 
 
With so much of our wellbeing and public discourse centred on human biology, a clear understanding of the distinction between socially constructed and genetic differences is more important than ever. This timely reappraisal of an overlooked science is an essential guide to our remarkable bodies.

Herman Pontzer

Books by Herman Pontzer

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