This is what I had gathered from other studies, but itโs nice to see it all in one place.
The findings suggest that there is no one โtrueโ diet for humans, who โcan be very healthy on a wide range of diets,โ said the lead author of the study, Herman Pontzer, an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University. โWe know that because we see a wide range of diets in these very healthy populations.โ
One thing hunter-gatherer populations have in common is a very high level of physical activity. Many walk between five and 10 miles a day. Yet paradoxically they do not have higher energy expenditure levels than the average American office worker. That suggests that health authorities should consider recommending exercise primarily as a way to improve metabolic health, but not necessarily as a calorie-burning antidote to obesity, the authors said.
So the lesson is moderation is best. Exercise wonโt help you lose (much) weight, but not consuming voluminous amounts of food in conjunction with exercise will keep you healthy. It doesnโt matter much what you eat, just donโt over-eat. Other than in special situations, diet is not so important as humans are genetically predisposed to be omnivores.
Itโs not in this study, but intermittent fasting is also probably beneficial. Thus, the Fat Acceptance folks are demonstrably nearly completely wrong in basically everything they believe and espouse. Yaโll can keep lifting Little Debbies. Iโll keep lifting weights.