Description

‘Pontzer’s findings have huge implications for our attitudes to exercise, diet and public health’ Mark Webster, Sunday Times

A myth-busting tour of the body’s hidden foundations from a pioneering evolutionary biologist

‘Public health strategies stubbornly cling to the simplistic armchair engineer’s view of metabolism, hurting efforts to combat obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and the other diseases that are most likely to kill us’

Herman Pontzer’s ground-breaking research has revealed how, contrary to received wisdom, exercise does not increase our metabolism. Instead, we burn calories within a very narrow range: nearly 3,000 calories per day, no matter our activity level.

In this book, he draws on twenty years of cutting-edge science to take a closer look at what happens to the energy we consume. Burn explores the ways in which metabolism controls every aspect of our health – from fertility to immune function – and reveals the truth about the dynamic system that sustains us.

Filled with facts and memorable anecdotes, this book will change the way you think about food, exercise and what really matters for your health.

Publisher Review

Pontzer's findings have huge implications for our attitudes to exercise, diet and public health -- Mark Webster * Sunday Times * Ground-breaking, fascinating, important . . . we were astounded -- Deliciously Ella * Delicious Ways to Feel Better * A fun, fast-paced, eye-opening, and innovative book that will revolutionize how you think about the energy that fuels your body and everything you do -- Daniel E. Lieberman, author of Exercised and The Story of the Human Body Burn is science writing at its best... will reshape what you thought you knew about how our metabolisms work -- Alex Hutchinson, New York Times bestselling author of Endure Burn will make you question what you think you know about metabolism and your waistline -- Stephan Guyenet, PhD, author of The Hungry Brain Herman Pontzer is one of the most gifted science writers of our time -- Kelly McGonigal, PhD, author of The Joy of Movement