Episode 20A - Interview with Omar Eldakar PhD - An evolutionary biologist

3:30 – Evolution explained in simple terms by Dr. Eldakar – change over time
4:00 – Why “stronger” runners have evolved – if a bear is chasing you, pushing down your slower friend kinda makes sense😉
7:50 – What are we calling a “stronger” runner exactly?
8:14 – Humans are actually adapted for endurance running. We are from a lineage of athletes (primates) that are primarily “speed” animals (not endurance).
12:25 – Humans are persistence hunters than can locomote at a speed that is just fast enough to eventually catch a quadruped. Also, humans are just much better at thermoregulation.
19:09 – The Plains Indians weren’t vegan for reasons obvious – survival
25:18 – Evolution explains why it is hard to gain muscle but super easy to gain fat mass
29:00 - What had a greater chance of killing you, too little or too many calories? (Within the context of human evolution).
32:29 – Obesity is an evolutionary mis-match in this contemporary environment
36:30 – Why do we crave meat instead of carrots? Animals are quite disagreeable with being consumed. Hence, we humans have crazy cravings for calorically dense foods.
39:10 – What if the Aborigine’s went back to their original way of life? They are no longer disease-ridden
42:37 – Why do we yawn?
46:30 – What is the winner-loser effect? Across the animal kingdom it has been observed that outcomes of conflicts are influenced by past experiences, whereby previous winners are likely to keep winning and losers are likely to lose again. Does this apply to humans? Sports?

Dr. Omar Tonsi Eldakar is an evolutionary biologist and associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at NSU Florida. Dr. Eldakar earned his PhD from Binghamton University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Insect Science at the University of Arizona. He maintains diverse research interests in adaptive behavior and physiology ranging from sexual conflict in insects, cooperation and conflict in bacteria, contagious and spontaneous yawning, to human evolution and athletic performance.

About the Show
We cover all things related to sports science, nutrition, and performance. The Sports Science Dudes represents the opinions of the hosts and guests and are not the official opinions of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), the Society for NeuroSports, or Nova Southeastern University. The advice provided on this show should not be construed as medical advice and is purely an educational forum.
Hosted by Jose Antonio PhD
https://www.sportsnutritionsociety.org/Board-of-Directors.html
Twitter: @JoseAntonioPhD

Co-host Anthony Ricci EdD
Anthony Ricci | College of Health Care Sciences | NSU (nova.edu)
Twitter: @sportsci_psyDoc