Re: Hunter-gatherers, exercise and heart dise

Bterr (bterr@aol.com)
29 Dec 1996 15:13:28 GMT

Generally, I agree with your well-referenced conclusions on the importance
of dietary changes as well as exercise in lowering cardio-vascular risk.
However, when considering the issue of exercise in a non-Western
population, one must consider all exercise performed in the course of
daily life. The Navajo tradition of going for a daily run at sunrise and
the excercise involved in hogan building and corral repair, etc. would
need to be factored into the equation along with the exercise involved in
pastoralism and other forms of direct subsistence activity to give a clear
picture of the amount of cardio-vascular work performed by a specific
population of Navajos.

Such variations in daily lifestyle among various non-Western cultures,
make it difficult to draw general conclusions about exercise and heart
disease among non-Western peoples as a whole, but might make it possible
to draw rather revealing insights about the influence of exercise and diet
(and perhaps other lifestyle factors) on cardio-vascular disease between
specific cultural and/or sub-cultural populations.