By Karen Collins, R.D.
SPECIAL TO MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.com/news/838437.asp?vts=112320021500

A number of books and magazine articles suggest that if we ate like ancient cave dwellers we wouldn't be facing the obesity and health problems that have become common in Western countries. The American Institute for Cancer Research believes a healthier and more sustainable way of eating would be based on the delicious traditional cuisines of the Mediterranean and Asia.

Nov. 22 - Several magazine articles and books suggest that if only we would eat more like the cave dwellers of the Paleolithic era, we would not be facing the obesity and health problems that have become so common in America.

Some advocatesargue that our genetic makeup hasn't changed through the centuries, so neither should our diet. But there are many populations around the world that have eaten a diet quite different from that of cavemen for generations, without developing the rates of obesity, heart disease and cancer seen in America. They show that the "the caveman diet" isn't necessary to solve obesity or other health problems.

According to the proponents of Paleolithic-style eating, obesity was not a problem in the hunter-gatherer society because the diet consisted of plenty of meat from hunted animals along with fruits, vegetables and nuts. Meat came from animals that were always on the run, so it was lean, like today's venison. The lack of sugar, bread and other grain products is proclaimed the key to good health. Supposedly, once people became farmers and introduced grains, they were hungry all the time and obesity became a problem.

This view of our ancestors' lifestyle is missing a vital element, however. What about the amount of exercise involved in tracking those animals? It is a fundamental concept, established by years of research, that the balance of calories we consume and calories we burn up determines whether we lose, gain, or maintain weight. We have become a nation of people who use remote controls, stand on elevators and drive instead of walk.

The difference between our activity level today and that of cave dwellers is most likely to a primary reason for our varying incidences of obesity.

Cave dwellers didn't have the opportunity to overeat often. For cavemen, every extra bit of food consumed meant more work hunting or foraging. They did not have fellow cavemen offering to supersize their meals, and eating was probably not considered a recreational activity. Animal and human studies show that having a wide variety of tempting foods readily available increases calorie consumption. Cavemen were not faced with the temptations of kitchens stocked with umpteen varieties of cookies, chips and ice cream. We make the decision to bring these foods home.

We don't have to look to ancient history to find less obesity. Most countries, including many European nations, have less obesity than we do. That's not because they don't eat grain products. They simply tend to lead more active lifestyles and eat smaller portions than Americans do.

Cavemen developed less cancer and heart disease than we do, anthropologists assume, because they died at a younger age, before these chronic problems had a chance to develop. Studies show that traditional Asian and Mediterranean populations not only had less obesity than Americans face today, they also had far less heart disease and cancer. In contrast to a "cavemen" diet, they ate plenty of grain products like pasta, bread, or rice.

Compared to the typical American diet, the traditional Mediterranean or Asian diet included a greater abundance of vegetables and fruits throughout the day and lower consumption of saturated fat from fatty meats and rich dairy products.

Those traditional diets mirror the eating approach advised by American Institute for Cancer Research, focusing on mostly plant-based foods in appropriate portions. Since we don't live like cave dwellers, there's no reason to eat like them.