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Herman Pontzer
5,878 posts
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Herman Pontzer
@HermanPontzer
Prof Evol Anthro @DukeU New book ADAPTABLE out March 25/25 Energetics - Human Evolution - Hunter Gatherers hadzafund.org @calorify_health science advisor
sites.duke.edu/pontzerlab/peo…
Joined August 2013
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Oct 23, 2024
    Excited to announce my new book ADAPTABLE coming this Spring!
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    29K
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Mar 24, 2022
    Replying to @JacobAGuenther @richcollins and @dranthonygustin
    Nope. He went on safari to a tourist camp and told them he wanted to go hunting. They took him hunting. This is like learning marine biology by going on a cruise or learning world affairs by visiting Epcot center. It differs from actual research bc it’s not actual research
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Feb 18, 2022
    Honored to be featured @ScienceMagazine in a nice piece by @evolutionscribe on my work w lots of friends and colleagues counting calories! Now I just need to drop an album to make good on that ridiculous scifi portrait...
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    This scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories—and why
    From science.org
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Jan 11, 2023
    Almost zero obese people five decades ago. And then I was born. My sincere apologies.
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    Dr. Eli David
    @DrEliDavid
    Jan 9, 2023
    Almost zero obese people fifty years ago. And then CDC published its dietary guidelines, also known as SAD (standard American diet).
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    103K
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Apr 16, 2025
    Elump & RFK are destroying the labs and research programs that make American research great. If there was any doubt, here's proof. If there were real interest in research to fix our broken food system, they would support labs like Hall's, not drive them out of the NIH
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    Kevin Hall
    @KevinH_PhD
    Apr 16, 2025
    After 21 years at my dream job, I’m very sad to announce my early retirement from the National Institutes of Health. My life’s work has been to scientifically study how our food environment affects what we eat, and how what we eat affects our physiology. Lately, I’ve focused on
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    34K
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    May 24, 2019
    Actual footage of me applying for funding
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    Yoni Freedhoff
    00:00
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    Yoni Freedhoff
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Jul 26, 2022
    Replying to @SempleScience and @nyuprimatology
    As a punitive element of incarceration, primatology literature is distributed freely to US penitentiaries.
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Feb 3, 2023
    dear journals: please stop with the NSA level password and verification checking. If someone is trying to hack my account to perform reviews, DON'T STOP THEM.
    29K
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Aug 16, 2019
    Still wrong, even in less “humorous” form. This sort of poor evolutionary thinking is a big problem esp as medicine adopts a more evolutionary perspective (which is great when done well). Hold my beer I’m writing a thread! 1/
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    Tim Noakes
    @ProfTimNoakes
    Aug 16, 2019
    Of course. You fail to appreciate humour.Points was making were:(i) once hominids were small-we had to grow and (ii) to grow we didn't just need calories (which seems to be your argument).We needed, in particular brain-specific nutrients found only in animal produce, perhaps fish
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Oct 30, 2025
    He's eating ~200 kcal/day less than expected for an adult male, lost close to the expected amount of weight over 60 days... ... and is convinced he's in a calorie *surplus*
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    Dr SHRADDHEY KATIYAR
    @Wegiveyouhealt1
    Oct 29, 2025
    I am eating 2800 calories for last 60 days per day on an average, daily calorie surplus is around 600-650 per day and I lost 1 kg in that period. Calories in , Calories out 🤡. Body is not run by mathematical formulas.
    54K
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Sep 6, 2023
    Coverage of my recent paper @royalsociety. Many theories of obesity suggest humans are uniquely vulnerable due to our past diets / lifestyles etc. I tested that in 40 species of non-human primates, and found that we are not alone! 1/
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    Humans aren’t the only fat primate
    From science.org
    37K
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Sep 19, 2024
    I'll return to a steadier diet of science once we're past an election w major health & science (&other) consequences. @KamalaHarris & Dems believe in science, support public health. The other side bans books & rejects elections. Vote!
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    SAE SAE
    @SAESAE86361193
    Sep 19, 2024
    Replying to @DemocraticWins and @HermanPontzer
    I followed Herman Pontzer based on interest in his research on metabolism and am disappointed to see his reposts are mostly Kamara Harris ads… scientists should stick to research just as musicians should stick to music
    24K
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    May 30, 2024
    Here, as in most of his work, he misses the point. Sure, calorie deficits will lead to weight loss. The problem is achieving that through diet & exercise is incredibly hard. So his “simply” is mathematically correct but there’s nothing simple about it.
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    Matt Walsh
    @MattWalshBlog
    May 30, 2024
    A bunch of people on here got mad at me recently because I said that literally anyone can lose weight simply by eating less and exercising more. But it’s obviously true. The idea that overweight people remain overweight even with dieting and exercise is asinine. It’s actually a
    395K
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    Herman Pontzer
    @HermanPontzer
    Jul 15, 2021
    1. New paper @AnnualReviews Nutrition w @briwood1 on hunter-gatherer and Paleolithic diets. 🧵of highlights TLDR “Paleo” diets probably aren’t. Variation is the point.
    Annual Review of Nutrition marketing image
    Effects of Evolution, Ecology, and Economy on Human Diet: Insights from Hunter-Gatherers and Other...
    From annualreviews.org

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