I saw an article this week that illustrates an important general concept that we need to pay more attention to: inputs are not always the answer. What I mean by that is that often our biggest challenges are not fixed by adding something, but rather by taking something away. This goes for fitness and for health as a wholistic concept. (read a previous post on inputs)
The article by NPR is about cloning Woolly Mammoths. It is largely an interview with a scientist who gives her perspective on why we should use this Jurassic Park-esque technology. Her point is that it is about helping to preserve, or even restore, bio-diversity. We could, according to the interview, modify current elephants to live in cooler climates thereby expanding their habitat and reducing pressure of habitat loss. Or, as in the case of Ferrets, we could enhance their DNA to help make them more resistant to diseases or simply to diversify the gene pool of small groups.
FIRST ASK WHY YOU NEED TO
This all sounds pretty amazing, but we can’t forget the underlying question, which is why is this necessary? The line of reasoning presented in the interview, while compelling, always worries me. It is the input solution to an input driven problem. Human activity is widely recognized as the main accelerant of bio-diversity loss. Things like population expansion, industrialization, pollution, deforestation, and climate change are the real pressures. (1,2,3) Suggesting that the solution is to modify an animal’s DNA with a prehistoric species’ genetic code not only raises eyebrows, but it also invites humans to ignore behavior change in favor of a packaged solution. What, for example, would happen if we modify elephants to live in colder climates, and then thanks to global warming, those colder climates become warmer again? (There is real talk in the scientific community about the fact that humans may migrate further north as moderate latitudes become hotter. [4,5]) Or what happens when our expanding population simply catches up with them?
HOW THIS APPLIES TO FITNESS (YES, IT DOES)
In its essence, this is the same problem that we face in so many parts of our lives. We have become accustomed to looking towards science and technology to deliver solutions. I observe this every day in fitness, where underlying problems remain in the background in favor of some sort of solution that can be added to ‘fix’ the problem. Sleep deprivation, stress, social pressure, and an abundance of low quality food are some of the accelerants of health decline in this country. To solve this problem we turn to fitness memberships, supplements, workout programs, caffeine, and so on. To really overcome our health challenges we can’t simply input our way out of the problem, we must also remove some of the underlying causes. Getting an extra hour of sleep, taking a real lunch break, cooking your dinner, or cutting back on alcohol are all things that can make a huge difference for your health. Once you have that down, you’ll really be ready to take advantage of the things that exercise has to offer.
CONCLUSION
There are valuable developments out there that can have real benefit to us as tools. Going to the gym, for example, has lots of benefits that everyone needs. Technology also has a great many helpful uses. There will undoubtedly be technological breakthroughs that will help us deal with some of our most serious problems. What we can never forget though, is that sometimes the most reasonable solution is to remove the problem, not introduce a fix. You can’t lose weight by working out if you still eat crap every day. You can’t fix habitat loss if you keep destroying habitat.
1) http://www.chgeharvard.org/topic/threats-biodiversity-and-ecosystems
2) https://www.cbd.int/gbo3/?pub=6667§ion=6711
3) http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s5_8879.pdf
4) http://www.cbsnews.com/news/as-planet-warms-bird-species-move-north/
5) http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/science/on-a-warmer-planet-which-cities-will-be-safest.html?_r=0
PHOTOS:
Scott Kinmartin: T-Rex Dinosaur, License
Adam Caudill: Jurassic Park, License