A big brain is good and bad. Sure, it's helped us master fire. Erect the pyramids. Reach the moon. And is what stops us from following each other single-file off a cliff. But having an infinitely ponderous brain can also get you into trouble.
And no, I'm not talking about slap-wrap bracelets, Speedos, sneakers with lights in them or even the Ford Pinto.
Some researchers believe the dramatic growth of our brains is what drives us to over consume calorie-rich foods, which is fine when you're running from a saber tooth tiger, but not so good when you're stuck sitting behind a desk all day.
Presented at the 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Sciencemeeting, William Leonard, chair and professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, claims during the time of early man eating nutritionally dense foods was necessary to satisfy the demands of our ever-growing brains.
It's our big brains that separate man from beast, but nowadays we're all so fat it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference.
That's the problem! We still have this compulsion to consume calorie-dense foods, like cheeseburgers loaded with saturated fat, and this has created energy imbalances, i.e. too many calories and not enough activity, contributing to today's obesity epidemic.
Simply feeding the human brain, which needs roughly twice the amount of calories as other mammals, might be making us fat!
Now, when you're hunting for food, constantly on the move or fending off predators, a T-bone steak might be okay, but in the modern world, where a meal is just a phone call away, we can't pig out like our ancestors.
So, unless you're tracking and trapping that barbecued rib sandwich you're devouring, you might want to tell your brain it's had ENOUGH or at very least try eating something healthier.
I'd suggest more fruits and veggies. Oh, and exercise too!
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