The evolutionary roots of physical activity and health are the subject of David Raichlen, PhD, an associate professor and research scientist in the University of Arizona School of Anthropology, who is the next speaker for the UA Endocrinology Grand Rounds.
He coauthored a recent article, published in the International Journal of Obesity, that looks at how genetics and physical activity or sedentary behavior affect body mass index. Researchers are investigating whether the amount of time you spend sitting, for instance, could serve as a risk factor for obesity and related diseases.
This lecture series was renewed in September 2016 by the UA Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and is a collaboration with the new UA Health Sciences Center for Disparities in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. The talks—held on the second Tuesdays of the month—are open to the public, as well as community physicians and other health-care professionals interested in learning more on these topics.
The title of Dr. Raichlen’s address is:
“An Evolutionary Medicine Perspective on Physical Activity and Inactivity”
Tuesday, Nov. 8, 3-4 p.m.
Room 5403, UA College of Medicine – Tucson
1501 N. Campbell Ave.
Please click here [PDF] or on the image at left to view and share the event flyer.
Dr. Raichlen’s lab in the UA College of Social & Behavioral Sciences focuses on understanding how human beings' unique evolutionary history explains modern human physiological variation and how we can use an evolutionary context to improve health and well-being today.
Specifically, a shift toward high levels of physical activity during our transition to hunting and gathering led to a physiological requirement for physical activity to maintain health of organ systems from our brains, to our cardiovascular system, to our musculoskeletal system, to our endocrine system.
Dr. Raichlen joined the faculty in the UA School of Anthropology in 2006 as an assistant professor. Before that, he was a post-doctoral research fellow and instructor in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. He has been an associate editor of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology since 2013, on the editorial board of Nature Publishing’s Scientific Reports since 2012, and is a past associate editor of the Journal of Human Evolution (2009-12). He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in biological anthropology and anatomy from Duke University.
For more information on these lectures or the UA Division of Endocrinology, please contact Regina Warren, 520-626-6376 or rwarren@deptofmed.arizona.edu
About the UA Center for Disparities in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism
The Arizona Department of Health Services reports nearly two-thirds of adults in Arizona are overweight. Collectively, Arizona’s minority populations make up 43 percent of Arizona residents. They also face a disproportionate share of the state’s obesity, diabetes and metabolic disease burden. The UA Center for Disparities in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism serves as a nucleus for interdisciplinary research to facilitate the discovery of basic mechanisms of disease that can be translated into solutions for prevention and treatment of obesity and its metabolic co-morbidities. It is affiliated with the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism within the UA Department of Medicine. For more information, contact Oscar Parra, 520-626-6485 or oscardp@email.arizona.edu
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. The UA Health Sciences includes the UA Colleges of Medicine (Phoenix and Tucson), Nursing, Pharmacy and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, the UA Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest to provide cutting-edge health education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic engine, the UA Health Sciences employs almost 5,000 people, has nearly 1,000 faculty members and garners more than $126 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: http://uahs.arizona.edu
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ALSO SEE:
"Endocrinology Grand Rounds to Spotlight Evolution of Activity, Inactivity" | Posted: Oct. 13, 2016