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Dataset for: "Outpaced by Industry: Industrial environments reduce endurance, with implications for evolutionary fitness", published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology
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Researchers conducted a randomized crossover study in which 25 adults cycled to exhaustion after 90-minute exposures to either an industrial environment or a forest, finding that industrial exposure significantly reduced endurance performance and worsened mood — suggesting that modern built environments may impair physical capacity relevant to evolutionary fitness.
This dataset contains the data supporting the findings published in "Outpaced by Industry: Industrial environments reduce endurance, with implications for evolutionary fitness" in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology. Users of this dataset are encouraged to contact d.longman@lboro.ac.uk to discuss potential collaborations or applications.Abstract:Objectives: Physical function – the capacity to perform tasks requiring endurance and/or strength – is a key determinant of fitness that has directly influenced Homo sapiens’ survival, reproduction and health throughout our evolutionary journey. However, the last 200-300 years of global industrialisation has transformed human habitats at an unprecedented rate and may now be compromising key functions that underpin our fitness (Environmental Mismatch Hypothesis). Although industrialisation has delivered a range of benefits, it has simultaneously introduced novel environmental challenges (e.g., air pollution, microplastics) and reduced contact with beneficial aspects of nature (e.g., phytoncides). While negative effects of industrialisation have been demonstrated for other determinants of fitness, its impact on physical function remains almost completely unexplored.Materials and Methods: We conducted a randomised, counterbalanced crossover study to determine whether brief exposure to an industrialised environment would impair endurance performance relative to a forest environment (used as a proxy for non-industrial ancestral conditions). Twenty-five healthy adults (19 females, 6 males) completed two test sessions, each involving a 90-minute environmental exposure followed by a standardised laboratory cycling test of endurance.Results: Endurance performance was significantly reduced following industrial exposure (time-to-exhaustion: 13.5±0.9 min) compared to forest exposure (14.6±1.0 min; p = 0.007). Industrial exposure also worsened mood and led to volitional exhaustion at a lower perceived exertion, while cardiorespiratory markers recorded during the endurance test (e.g., V̇O₂) did not differ significantly between conditions.Conclusions: These results suggest that acute exposure to industrialised environments may reduce physical capacity, with potential consequences for evolutionary fitness.© the author
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Dataset for: "Outpaced by Industry: Industrial environments reduce endurance, with implications for evolutionary fitness", published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers conducted a crossover experiment exposing 25 adults to either an industrial environment or a forest and found that brief industrial exposure significantly reduced cycling endurance by about eight percent and worsened mood, suggesting that modern industrialized environments may impair physical capacity relevant to evolutionary fitness.
Outpaced by Industry: Industrial Environments Reduce Endurance, With Implications for Evolutionary Fitness
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Just 90 minutes in an industrial-looking environment (think concrete, traffic, city clutter) made healthy adults tire out faster on a bike endurance test than the same amount of time spent in a forest — even though their heart rate and oxygen use looked the same. The likely culprit isn't just physical fatigue but mood: people felt worse and mentally "gave up" sooner in the industrial setting. It's a small study, but it hints that our modern built environments, so different from the natural settings humans evolved in, might be quietly sapping our physical performance and endurance, not just our mental well-being.
Outpaced by Industry:Industrial environments reduce endurance, with implications for evolutionary fitness
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Spending just 90 minutes in an industrial, urban-like setting before exercise made people tire out faster and feel worse mentally compared to spending the same time in a forest—even though their bodies (heart rate, oxygen use) worked the same. This suggests our modern built environments, potentially through factors like pollution or lack of nature exposure, may be quietly sapping our physical stamina and endurance in ways we don't fully realize. If confirmed by future research, it hints that getting outside in green spaces before physical activity could genuinely boost performance and how you feel while exercising.
Outpaced by Industry: Industrial Environments Reduce Endurance, With Implications for Evolutionary Fitness
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Spending just 90 minutes in an industrial-looking environment (think concrete, traffic, city grit) made people tire out faster during a bike endurance test compared to spending the same time in a forest — even though their heart and lungs were working the same either way. This suggests our modern built environments might be quietly sapping our physical stamina and mood, possibly because our bodies evolved for natural settings, not concrete and pollution. It's a small study, but it hints that regular time in nature isn't just relaxing — it may genuinely help your body perform better.
Homo sapiens, industrialisation and the environmental mismatch hypothesis
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This paper argues that the rapid pace of industrialization has created an environmental mismatch between the conditions humans evolved for and modern environments, using evolutionary biology to frame how pollution, urbanization, and ecosystem degradation affect human health.
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