Why don't animals need to go to the gym?

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lozina

Lifer
Sep 10, 2001
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Sounds like a stupid question, so it probably is. But why do animals who lounge about all day like lions for example maintain so much toned muscle mass? Take it a step further and think of lions in the zoo who don't even hunt prey the few times wild ones do.

I know Charles Atlas pondered this question when he came up with Dynamic Tension way back when, but what is the modern explanation for this?
 

Blackjack200

Lifer
May 28, 2007
15,995
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Because genetics. And they still adapt to physical stress, a lion in the wild that has to hunt for its food will be far stronger and more conditioned than a lion in a zoo.
 

brandonb

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 2006
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It has a lot to do with evolution and biology.

Animals don't have access to a grocery store available at all times of the day for their eating pleasure. Humans do today. If you put a bowl of cat food down that is always full, you will end up with a fat cat.

That is how mammals evolved. We have evolved (from the past) with having large infrequent meals. (Like the lion eating the wildebeest) So that is what the body expects and is wired. Today, we are told we should have 6 snacks a day between 3 meals. And as far as evolution is concerned, is a very bad idea.

This has everything to do with

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptin

Although leptin reduces appetite as a circulating signal, obese individuals generally exhibit an unusually high circulating concentration of leptin.[69] These people are said to be resistant to the effects of leptin, in much the same way that people with type 2 diabetes are resistant to the effects of insulin. The sustained high concentrations of leptin from the enlarged adipose stores implies leptin desensitization. The pathway of leptin control in obese people might be flawed at some point, so the body does not adequately receive the satiety feeling subsequent to eating.

So in other words. The more frequent you eat, the more you mess up your body's hormones. Your body becomes immune to the "I'm full" signal even if you eat 6 snacks a day and 3 meals. Since your body has become resistant to the "I'm full" it stays in starvation mode and stores every calorie it consumes when it should be giving you energy. Strange that the fat person is always hungry and never has energy and is tired all the time? It's because they are leptin resistant. Makes sense why, right?

This will happen with animals if they are allowed access to food indefinitely. Humans should really only be eating as needed, none of this 3 times per day with 6 snacks garbage you see all the time. If your body is working properly you shouldn't need more than 2 meals per day (and no snacks)...

I've followed the leptin diet (which is a diet based on how frequent you eat) 6 months later, I had no issues with 2 meals per day, and had lost 60 lbs because I lost the leptin desensitization that happened when I was sipping sugary drinks all day, etc. (I still drank sugary drinks, I just only had them with meals, so this diet has nothing to do with calorie intake, and it just requires you to only eat/drink at meal time)
 
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preslove

Lifer
Sep 10, 2003
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My corgi would be very obese if I didn't strictly control his food intake and take him out for ~30 minute fetch (or racket ball kick) sessions.
 

Ventanni

Golden Member
Jul 25, 2011
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Genetics.

Animals dedicate larger portions of the energy they consume to building and maintaining muscle tone, because it's necessary for their survival. It's theorized that the reason why humans don't maintain large amounts of muscle strength/tone is due to that energy being prioritized for the development and use of our brain. Having more muscle mass as a human also means requiring a higher caloric intake to maintain, which would give a heavily muscular individual a disadvantage to survival in a drought/famine environment where resources are scarce.

There's also the entropy side of things too. Sunlight is the primary energy source of the planet. Plants absorb sunlight, which is then eaten by herbivores, which are then eaten by carnivores. The further you get down the line, the less available energy there is to consume as a result of entropy (which states that some energy will always be lost during the conversion process). This is why herbivores are typically larger than carnivores.
 

ibex333

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2005
4,094
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As already mentioned in this thread, it's all about genetics. There is a certain race of people who seem to be predisposed for sports pretty much from birth. They tend to look more muscular than people of other races when they are kids, and they generally stay that way throughout their lives unless their excellent genetics are counteracted by overeating, disease or sloth. These same people tend to highly excel in running/sprinting, boxing, and pretty much dominate basketball with no other race or group of people having as many good players.

Off course there are always exceptions to everything, but for the most part it's true. People of other races can certainly also achieve great results with everything mentioned above when they put their mind to it, but it might not necessarily always come as easy or consistently to them.
 

Phanuel

Platinum Member
Apr 25, 2008
2,304
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Not all pets are the same with regards to food behavior. *shrug* dry cat food is out 100% of the time, wet cat food is put out in the evening and we usually end up throwing 1/3rd of it away in the morning because they never got around to eating it. 9 and 10lbs of cat.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
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Actually there are dog gyms. They are usually under doggie day care, but some have fitness programs for dogs.
 

preslove

Lifer
Sep 10, 2003
16,754
63
91
pics? I love the corgs.

Here's Chico
VDpmz.jpg

lBkdz.jpg
 
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