Why the Modern World Makes Us Fat, Sick and Tired

From a health perspective the modern world is basically set up for us to fail. 

 

Why?

 

Because humans evolved over roughly 2.4 million years under completely different conditions from the ones we now live in.

 

We evolved eating real foods, living outdoors, getting plenty of sunlight, moving frequently and drinking clean water from mountain streams and springs. We evolved in a world without ultra-processed foods, artificial lights, endless screens, chronic stress and constant stimulation.

 

Now we eat food that has been engineered for overconsumption that does not resemble anything our ancestors would have recognised as food.

 

We stay up too late because of artificial lights, screens and dopamine addiction.

 

We work long hours and live under chronic stress, but we no longer have the acute physical stress that once balanced that out.

 

Convenience has replaced physical effort.

 

We do not get enough sunlight.

 

Our food is covered in chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Meat is often pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones. Ultra-processed foods are packed with preservatives, additives and chemicals.

 

Even our water is no longer really “natural”, full of fluoride, chlorine and lead.

 

We now live in an environment that our biology simply did not evolve for.

 

That is the problem.

 

Our biology has not caught up with the realities of modern life and technological advancements.

 

But here’s the paradox!

 

Why are we living longer than our ancestors?

 

Mainly for two reasons.

 

Firstly, we became very good at preventing acute death through antibiotics, sanitation and modern medicine.

 

Secondly, our ancestors often died suddenly from things we no longer die from as often:

• war
• famine
• infections

These days we no longer die from a spear through the neck!

 

We deteriorate slowly instead.

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Neurodegenerative diseases
• Strokes
• Cancer 

The modern world removed many of the natural forcing functions that once kept humans healthy.

 

Health used to be largely automatic.

 

Our ancestors did not need willpower to avoid ultra-processed food because it did not exist. They did not need motivation to move because movement was survival. They did not need to “schedule exercise” because life itself was exercise.

 

Now health requires money, time and/or willpower.

 

So what do we do about it?

 

First we need to understand where we are out of balance.

 

Is it diet? Exercise? Sleep? Stress?

 

Then we need to understand our biggest constraint(s).

 

Is it money, time, willpower or all three?

 

Once you understand where you are out of balance and what your constraints are, it becomes much easier to work out what to target next and which habits are most likely to create meaningful change.

 

That is essentially what we do in the first few coaching sessions with our clients, whether they are working with us on the personal training side or the nutrition and lifestyle coaching side.

 

Not by trying to overhaul somebody’s entire life overnight.

 

But by understanding:

1. what the goals are
2. what the problems are
3. where the imbalance is
4. what the constraints are
5. what the next highest-return habit should be

You do not need to perfectly recreate ancestral life.

 

But you do need to stop assuming the modern world was designed for human health.

 

It ain’t.

 

It’s designed for convenience, stimulation and profit.