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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Those of you who spend hours at the gym with the aim of burning as many calories as possible may be disappointed to learn that all the while your nervous system is subconsciously working against you. Researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on September 10 have found that our nervous systems are remarkably adept in changing the way we move so as to expend the least amount of energy possible. In other words, humans are wired for laziness.

The findings, which were made by studying the energetic costs of walking [sciencedaily.com], likely apply to most of our movements, the researchers say.

"We found that people readily change the way they walk--including characteristics of their gait that have been established with millions of steps over the course of their lifetime--to save quite small amounts of energy," says Max Donelan of Simon Fraser University in Canada. "This is completely consistent with the sense that most of us have that we prefer to do things in the least effortful way, like when we choose the shortest walking path, or choose to sit rather than stand. Here we have provided a physiological basis for this laziness by demonstrating that even within a well-rehearsed movement like walking, the nervous system subconsciously monitors energy use and continuously re-optimizes movement patterns in a constant quest to move as cheaply as possible."
...
The experiment revealed that people adapt their step frequency to converge on a new energetic optimum very quickly--within minutes. What's more, people do this even when the energy savings is quite small: less than 5%. The findings show that the energetic costs of our activities aren't just an outcome of our movements, but in fact play a central role in continuously shaping them.

Couch potatoes, rejoice!

Original Submission