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Herman Pontzer, a professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health at Duke University, has influenced our collective understanding of human diet, exercise and metabolism — and the importance of moving our bodies.

Dr. Pontzer’s latest book, “Adaptable: How Your Unique Body Really Works and Why Our Biology Unites Us,” explores how our bodies function and what we can do to help them work better for longer.

Summary of this conversation

How much does your DNA dictate how tall, smart or athletic you are — or how long you’ll live? In this conversation, I ask Pontzer about not only DNA but also about the fascinating science of epigenetics — the study of how experiences our parents endured in their childhoods get passed down to us (and what we can do about it now). We also discuss the traits that are more and less likely to be inherited vs. influenced by how we live, grow up, eat, exercise and socialize.

In the final 12 minutes, available exclusively to paying AGING with STRENGTH subscribers: Pontzer’s surprising discovery of the body’s relationship between physical activity and calorie burn, — which may change how you think about exercise and weight loss.

“Every part of our body has a story that I bet are new stories to a lot of people.”

Timestamps

01:49 — The biggest misconception people have about their bodies. “I’m reminded every day how little people really know about their bodies.”

02:45 — The many ways that online health “influencers” feed you bad information about diet. The myths about IQ and genetics.

“The influencer sphere is full of wrong stories about how diet works.”

03:42 — Anti-vaxxers who brag about being “mRNA free”: “If you’re body was mRNA free, you’d be dead.”

04:13 — A dive into epigenetics, the science of how experiences (trauma) that shaped our parents and grandparents lives influence how our genes are expressed.

04:30 — The plain-English description of epigentics, and how our DNA gets “marked”.

06:40 — The human genome: Think of it like a thick book that gets filled with flags or Post-It Notes — marks from your epigenome, ie, your ancestors’ experiences.

“We’re told that when you’re born your IQ is determined by your genes and there’s nothing you can do about that. There are people who really believe that.”

07:47 — “A baby is born with a book that’s already marked” by mom and dad and even by grandma and grandpa.

09:15 — How your epigenome is marked by your parents’ experiences as children vs. in their adulthoods.

10:24 — What epigenetics implies for people whose parents experienced acute trauma as children, and the Dutch Hunger Winter example from the 20th century.

12:25 — So your genes are “scarred” by what your parents went through as kids. What can you do about it now?

14:50 — The epigenetic impact of chronic stress, poverty, racism, money, pollution, hunger, and other long-term negative influences. “These things are all cumulative.”

15:56 — How much, or not, does your DNA dictate your destiny, and the art of aging differently than your parents.

17:30 — Heritability: how much your genes predict, or not, your specific personal characteristics. Real-world examples of what’s more likely to be inherited from parents.

21:00 — Heritability’s impact on longevity.

21:37 — Pontzer’s discovery of the surprising relationship between physical exercise and calories burn based on his research on a Tanzanian hunter-gatherer community