Daniel Lieberman – författare

Är vi födda att springa?

Träning är en motsägelsefull företeelse: sund men ona­turlig, i sig kostnadsfri men i hög grad kommersialiserad och en källa till välbehag och hälsa men också till skuld­känslor och skam.

I Träningsparadoxen tar författaren upp de motsägelser och den förvirring som vår tids råd om träning brottas med. Enligt samstämmiga experter behöver vi 150 minu­ters motion per vecka, men det sägs också att högintensiv träning några få minuter per dag kan räcka för att hålla oss i form. En del rekommenderar oss att lyfta hantlar och skivstänger, andra förebrår oss för att vi slarvar med kondi­tionsträningen. Å ena sidan tillråds vi att gå tiotusen steg per dag och aldrig ta hissen, men å andra sidan får vi höra att motionerande inte hjälper oss att bli av med onödiga kilon. Somliga auktoriteter försöker övertala oss att jogga, medan andra varnar för att löpning förstör knäna. Å ena sidan uppmanas vi att ägna mer tid åt att vara aktiva och att inte sitta hopsjunkna, men sedan blir vi tillsagda att sova mer.

Varför är vetenskapen om träning så fylld av motsatser och paradoxer?

Genom att granska vårt behov av fysisk träning ur ett evolutionärt och antropologiskt perspektiv kan vi för­stå dessa paradoxer. Ingenting hos träningens biologi är begripligt annat än i evolutionens ljus, och ingenting hos träningen som beteende är begripligt annat än i antropolo­gins ljus, menar författaren. Det här är en bok lika mycket för träningsentusiaster som för dem som är stressade av att de aldrig kommer sig för med att motionera."Oändligt fascinerande och full av överraskningar."Bill Bryson

"Träningsparadoxen är en mycket gedigen och seriös bok om fysisk aktivitet."BTJ

'Endlessly fascinating and full of surprises. Easily one of my books of the year' BILL BRYSONThe myth-busting science behind our modern attitudes to exercise: what our bodies really need, why it matters, and its effects on health and wellbeing. In industrialized nations, our sedentary lifestyles have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases like diabetes. A key remedy, we are told, is exercise - voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. However, most of us struggle to stay fit, and our attitudes to exercise are plagued by misconceptions, finger-pointing and anxiety.But, as Daniel Lieberman shows in Exercised, the first book of its kind by a leading scientific expert, we never evolved to exercise. We are hardwired for moderate exertion throughout each day, not triathlons or treadmills. Drawing on over a decade of high-level scientific research and eye-opening insights from evolutionary biology and anthropology, Lieberman explains precisely how exercise can promote health; debunks persistent myths about sitting, speed, strength and endurance; and points the way towards more enjoyable and physically active living in the modern world.'Myth-busting, illuminating, brilliant - Lieberman will completely change the way you think about your body' Professor ALICE ROBERTS, presenter of Our Incredible Human Journey

In The Story of the Human Body, Daniel Lieberman, Professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard, shows how we need to change our world to fit our hunter-gatherer bodiesThis ground-breaking book of popular science explores how the way we use our bodies is all wrong. From an evolutionary perspective, if normal is defined as what most people have done for millions of years, then it's normal to walk and run 9 -15 kilometres a day to hunt and gather fresh food which is high in fibre, low in sugar, and barely processed. It's also normal to spend much of your time nursing, napping, making stone tools, and gossiping with a small band of people. Our 21st-century lifestyles, argues Daniel Lieberman, are out of synch with our stone-age bodies. Never have we been so healthy and long-lived - but never, too, have we been so prone to a slew of problems that were, until recently, rare or unknown, from asthma, to diabetes, to - scariest of all - overpopulation.The Story of the Human Body asks how our bodies got to be the way they are, and considers how that evolutionary history - both ancient and recent - can help us evaluate how we use our bodies. How is the present-day state of the human body related to the past? And what is the human body's future? 'Monumental. The Story of the Human Body, by one of our leading experts, takes us on an epic voyage' - Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish'Riveting, enlightening, and more than a little frightening' - Christopher McDougall, author of Born to RunDaniel Lieberman is the Chair of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard and a leader in the field. He has written nearly 100 articles, many appearing in the journals Nature and Science, and his cover story on barefoot running in Nature was picked up by major media the world over. His research and discoveries have been highlighted in newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Boston Globe, Discover, and National Geographic.

Why is it so hard to decide what to eat? We are bombarded with conflicting advice on weight and health, fad diets and food pyramids. No wonder so many of us feel confused and guilty.In Fed Up, Daniel Lieberman tackles this confusion head on with his trademark blend of lively storytelling and myth-busting science. Drawing on evolutionary biology, anthropology and physiology, he explains how humans first evolved to eat; how fire, farming and industrialization transformed our diets; and what that history combined with rigorous medical science can – and cannot – tell us about what to eat today to stay healthy and manage our weight. In each chapter, Lieberman explores what different diets – from Paleo to veganism to intermittent fasting – tell us about nutrition and health, even putting these diets to the test himself. His conclusion is liberating: there is no optimal diet. What matters instead is variety, moderation and finding out what works for you.Clear-eyed, humane and always entertaining, Fed Up gives us the tools to make wiser, kinder choices about what we eat.

Uncertainty analysis is a key component of national GHG inventory analyses. The issues that are raised by the authors in this volume – and the role that uncertainty analysis plays in many of their arguments and/or proposals – highlight the importance of such efforts. Topics include: bottom-up versus top-down emission inventory approaches, compliance and verification issues, signal detection and analysis techniques, compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, and the role of uncertainty in emissions trading schemes.