(STUDY FINDS) -- BOSTON — Within the hierarchy of nature, humans have certainly never been the strongest creatures. Mankind’s major advantages over the animal kingdom can be summed up in two words: intelligence and mobility. Besides just evading predators, for centuries virtually all humans sustained themselves by hunting and farming, two activities that necessitate long periods of physical exertion. As such, a new study confirms the human heart evolved over time for endurance, slowly becoming less and less “ape-like,” in reference to our evolutionary ancestors.
So, because the human heart is intended for endurance activities, those who live a largely sedentary lifestyle are at a much greater risk of developing heart disease, researchers say.
That’s the main takeaway from a recent study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital, and researchers even went so far as to say that individuals who neglect their physical fitness actually have hearts that are more “ape-like.” The study’s authors investigated the differences between human and ape hearts, the reasons for these differences, and what these observations mean to human heart health.
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