Evolved To Move? Flashcards
Why is evolution important to sport and exercise?
Evolutionary perspective is necessary to explain why we move as we do. (Exercise subdisciplines explain how we move)
How have humans evolved to move?
Relative to other animals, humans aren’t particularly good at strength, speed etc. But Homosapiens are all rounded, well accomplished - good at using tools effectively to support our behaviour/survival
How much and what kinds of physical activity are humans built to perform?
Many different activities (eg. running, climbing, crouching, playing) but there’s no universal exercise prescription
To what extent are humans also adapted to be physically inactive?
Trade-off energy utilisation between PA and reproduction - periods of activity and inactivity (ie. staying alive & propagating our genes)
Why do most humans avoid physical activity when its so vital to health?
Perceived by some as unpleasant or wasteful use of resources. Society generally marginalises PA
What are common forms of movement?
- Locomotion
- Climbing
- Throwing
- Jumping
- Swimming
What type of symmetry allows organisms to move purposefully and efficiently?
Bilateral Symmetry
Why is bipedalism favoured by natural selection?
Walking on two feet enabled hominins to travel further in more open habitats that were becoming more common in Africa.
Bipedalism frees up our hands, to be able to carry tools, fight etc.
Favoured features of homo erectus?
- Larger brain
- Long legs
- Short arms
- Arched feet
Adaptations of the human foot?
- Large heel
- Ankle adapted for walking
- Stiff mid foot for propulsion
- Adducted big toe in line with other digits
What are human body adaptations that favour endurance activities like running?
- Arched feet, heel bone and springy archilles tendon
- Large hip, knee and ankle joints. Strong hip and knee muscles
- Multiple sensitive balance organs. Tall narrow body
- Hairless, sweating and other thermoregulatory mechanisms
What type of muscle fibres do human limb muscles need to be more biased toward?
Slow twitch type I muscle fibres
What is the purpose of describing anthropometric characteristics?
- Assess growth and development in children and adolescents
- Estimate body composition
- Assess effects of interventions
What are 6 common anthropometric measurements?
- Height
- Weight
- Body mass index
- Body circumferences
- Body width measurements
- Body composition
What is BMI?
- Does not measure body composition
- Its ok for descriptive purposes and esp. useful at population levels but not suitable at individual level
- Does correlate with disease prevalence and mortality rates
- Use along with more objective measure
What is anthropometry?
Standardised techniques to quantify or predict body size, proportion and shape
What is bone density?
Body mass per unit body volume
What is specific gravity?
Body mass in air, divided by loss of weight in water.
BM / (BM-BW)
What is body mass?
Fat mass + fat free mass + other lipids (esp. cell membranes)
What is fat patterning?
Distribution of fat mass
What is the only direct way to measure body composition?
Cadavers
What are the indirect ways to measure body composition?
- Multi-tissue imaging (DXA)
- Labelled water dilution
- Densitometry
What are the doubly indirect ways to measure body composition?
- Bioimpedance analysis (BIA)
- Skin fold thicknesses
- Surface scanning
- Single tissue imaging
Why is it important to know hydration state?
Water comprises majority of mass within most cells, and esp. around them