The human body has evolved and adapted over millennia through the forces of nature.
According to Darwin, there was a natural selection for those traits that ensured survival to reproduce and pass on those traits to offspring and succeeding generations.
These include attributes that made us more attractive to the opposite sex and thereby increasing our odds of reproducing.
If you were to travel back in time and hang out in a tribe of early less evolved Homo sapiens, you would likely consider the people around you today really good looking by comparison.
Regardless of what you might think of your own looks, youd be considered totally hot in that prehistoric tribe.
Our brains evolved to solve problems, to be sensitive to potential danger, to crave novelty and to plan ahead.
Our legs were designed to run far and fast, our arms to climb, lift and carry.
This is my evolutionary theory of why what we might consider our negative emotional tendencies exist. Anxiety and worry serve a purpose.
The most anxious in a tribe would plan ahead and anticipate potential risks.
They would be attune to something out of place and as insomniacs, they would serve as reliable night watchmen and were the first to sound the alarm.
Aggression and anger would be adaptive and positive to defend yourself, your family and your people in the face of real threats.
Even pessimism and optimism ensured our survival as a species.
The naysayers helped us anticipate the downsides of our optimistic plans.
The optimists showed us opportunities, advantages and possibilities.
We needed both perspectives to survive in a dangerous world.
The lifestyles of modern life no longer suit the human body for which evolution has ceased. As urbanized humans, we can be sedentary during 90 per cent of our time at school, work or home.
In many ways, we ought to live like cavemen and women modern stone-aged families like the Flintstones.
We can have our jobs, domestic conveniences and school but embed physical activity throughout each day.
Even Fred and Wilma were moving their feet when they were commuting across town.
Even those of us who work in labour may not enjoy a well-rounded variety of physical activity. Repetitive motion from cashier work, housekeeping, construction, warehousing and other trades make us more prone to conditions such as tennis elbow, golfers elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, pelvic instability and chronic neck and back pain.
Years of heavy labour and recurrent joint injuries can predispose us to degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis) involving major joints such as the hips, knees and shoulders and frequently used joints including the wrists, hands and fingers.
The lower segments of the cervical and lumbar spine are generally the first to show disc degeneration and facet joint arthritis.
As a way of showing that your family physicians support the local community and are committed to health, the Burnaby Division of Family Practice has formed a team for the Burnaby Hospital Foundations annual fundraising event, the Rhythm of Life Run and Walk for Everyone. Funds raised at this event will support cardiac care and critical equipment needs at Burnaby Hospital.
I will be running at this fun event along with my family physician colleagues at Burnaby Lake on Sunday morning, September 9th, 2012.
We would like to invite you to support the Burnaby Hospital foundation by donating or signing up for the Rhythm of Life yourself.
For more information check out rhythmofliferun.ca or check the Burnaby Hospital Foundations website, bhfoundation.ca, for more information about how to participate or sponsor someone.
Next week: four major types of physical activity, the health benefits of these activities and practical strategies for achieving your personal health goals.
Dr. Davidicus Wong is a family physician and writer. His Healthwise articles appear regularly in this paper. You can read more about achieving your positive potential in life at davidicuswong.wordpress.com.
