--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Except for professional athletes…" description: "\"“Except for professional athletes, dancers, cowboys, and a few other groups, most people in modern industrial societies have abnormally low energy expe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/randolph-m-nesse-24802_disease_except-for-professional-athletes-dancers_2150812.jpg" --- # Except for professional athletes, dancers, cowboys, and a… ![“Except for professional athletes, dancers, cowboys, and a few other groups, most people in modern industrial societies have abnormally low energy expenditures. Workers sitting in swivel chairs or in driver's seats of cars or even pushing vacuum cleaners or electrically powered lawn mowers are…” quote by Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/randolph-m-nesse-24802_disease_except-for-professional-athletes-dancers_2150812.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/randolph-m-nesse-24802_disease_except-for-professional-athletes-dancers_2150812.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/randolph-m-nesse-24802_disease_except-for-professional-athletes-dancers_2150812.jpg) > ““Except for professional athletes, dancers, cowboys, and a few other groups, most people in modern industrial societies have abnormally low energy expenditures. Workers sitting in swivel chairs or in driver's seats of cars or even pushing vacuum cleaners or electrically powered lawn mowers are being sedentary, and their leisure hours may be even more so.”” [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern lifestyles make most people unusually inactive, with low energy use in work and leisure, leading to health concerns. **In simple terms:** People today are too sedentary. Key Takeaway Increase daily movement. Themes health activity modern life energy expenditure Mood caution motivational Type health educational When to use this quote - office work - commuting - home chores Key Concepts sedentary behavior metabolic health Questions to Reflect On - What small changes can break sedentary habits? - How can workplaces promote movement? A Different Perspective Technology can make activity harder to integrate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Fatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fatness/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness/) ## Related quotes > [“During most all of human evolution, it was adaptive to conserve energy by being lazy as circumstances permitted. Energy was a vitally needed resourse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/during-most-all-of-human-evolution-it-was-adaptive-to-conserve-energy/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) > [Recognize when your peak energy occurs during the day. Allocate the most difficult projects to that period. Work on easy projects at low-energy times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/recognize-when-your-peak-energy-occurs-during-the-day-allocate-the/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Technology has given us this wonderful opportunity to have low energy costs. We have to seize that, rather than keep debating and discussing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-porter/technology-has-given-us-this-wonderful-opportunity-to-have-low-energy/) [Michael Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-porter/) > [Protect everything, detect everything, contain everything - obsessional society. Save time. Save money. Save our souls - phobic society. Low tar. Low energy. Low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/protect-everything-detect-everything-contain-everything-obsessional/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [When one person is having a low energy day, the other can step it up. There's a collective amount of energy, and we're each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamrie-hart/when-one-person-is-having-a-low-energy-day-the-other-can-step-it-up/) Mamrie Hart > [“Sometimes for a low energy person, the decision that looks like a no-decision becomes the only decision in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-for-a-low-energy-person-the-decision-that-looks-like-a-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Kinkiness comes from low energy. It's the substitution of lechery for lust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/kinkiness-comes-from-low-energy-it-s-the-substitution-of-lechery-for/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [The flip side of renewables' low energy density is their low return on energy invested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shellenberger/the-flip-side-of-renewables-low-energy-density-is-their-low-return-on/) [Michael Shellenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shellenberger/) > [I just try to eat lots of vibrant fruit and veg. If I don't I have low energy and feel a bit gross and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fearne-cotton/i-just-try-to-eat-lots-of-vibrant-fruit-and-veg-if-i-don-t-i-have-low/) [Fearne Cotton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fearne-cotton/) > [I'm usually always very happy and funny and positive. It's only when I'm tired that I get a little low energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nargis-fakhri/i-m-usually-always-very-happy-and-funny-and-positive-it-s-only-when-i/) [Nargis Fakhri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nargis-fakhri/) > [I describe Jeb Bush as a 'low-energy' individual, and unfortunately for him, that stuck. And it's true: he's a low-energy person. That doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-describe-jeb-bush-as-a-low-energy-individual-and-unfortunately-for/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“keep yourself hydrated and keep taking small bites like nuts, or from bananas or a protein bar when low on energy during the run.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumedha-mahajan/keep-yourself-hydrated-and-keep-taking-small-bites-like-nuts-or-from/) [Sumedha Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumedha-mahajan/) > [O, there is lovely to feel a book, a good book, firm in the hand, for its fatness holds rich promise, and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-llewellyn/o-there-is-lovely-to-feel-a-book-a-good-book-firm-in-the-hand-for-its/) [Richard Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-llewellyn/) > [Fatness is invariable in my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiku-sharda/fatness-is-invariable-in-my-family/) [Kiku Sharda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiku-sharda/) ## More by Randolph M. Nesse > [ “\[Mood allocates\] investments of time, effort, resources, and risk taking to maximize Darwinian fitness in situations of varying propitiousness. High and low moods adjust… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/mood-allocates-investments-of-time-effort-resources-and-risk-taking/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“The current danger for most of us is not the deprivation suffered by our ancestors but an excess of nutrition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/the-current-danger-for-most-of-us-is-not-the-deprivation-suffered-by/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“The current danger for most of us is not the deprivation suffered bu our ancestors but an excess of nutrition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/the-current-danger-for-most-of-us-is-not-the-deprivation-suffered-bu/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure that people gain a selective advantage from believing in things they can't prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/i-can-t-prove-it-but-i-m-pretty-sure-that-people-gain-a-selective/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“People are not controlled by some internal calculator that crudely motivates them to maximize their reproductive success. Instead, people form deep, lifelong emotional attachments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/people-are-not-controlled-by-some-internal-calculator-that-crudely/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Darwinism gives no moral guidelines about how we should live or how doctors should practice medicine. A Darwinian perspective on medicine can, however, help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/darwinism-gives-no-moral-guidelines-about-how-we-should-live-or-how/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Therapists have long known that many depressions go away only after a person finally gives up some long-sought goal and turns his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/therapists-have-long-known-that-many-depressions-go-away-only-after-a/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Paradoxically, it now is much easier to treat many mental disorders than it is to understand them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/paradoxically-it-now-is-much-easier-to-treat-many-mental-disorders/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Long before there were effective treatments, physicians dispensed prognoses, hope, and, above all, meaning. When something terrible happens-and serious disease is always terrible-people want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/long-before-there-were-effective-treatments-physicians-dispensed/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Thanks to subsequent years of conversations with evolutionists, especially Williams, and with medical school residents and faculty, he has found that an evolutionary perspective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/thanks-to-subsequent-years-of-conversations-with-evolutionists/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Emotional capacities are shaped by situations that occurred repeatedly in the course of evolution and that were important to fitness. Attacks by predators, threats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/emotional-capacities-are-shaped-by-situations-that-occurred/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Every textbook description of a disease should have, in our opinion, a section devoted to its evolutionary aspects. This section should address the following…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/every-textbook-description-of-a-disease-should-have-in-our-opinion-a/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [Natural selection involves no plan, no goal, and no direction — just genes increasing and decreasing in frequency depending on whether individuals with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/natural-selection-involves-no-plan-no-goal-and-no-direction-just/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [“Even our behavior and emotions seem to have been shaped by a prankster. Why do we crave the very foods that are bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/even-our-behavior-and-emotions-seem-to-have-been-shaped-by-a/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) > [The body is a bundle of careful compromises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-m-nesse/the-body-is-a-bundle-of-careful-compromises/) [Randolph M. Nesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) [Explore all 24 Randolph M. Nesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-m-nesse/) ## More Disease quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [The strains and stresses suffered by the individual in society are grounded in the normal functioning of that society (and of the individual!) rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-strains-and-stresses-suffered-by-the-individual-in-society-are/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“As a special branch of general philosophy, pathogenesis had never been explored. In my opinion it had never been approached in a strictly scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/as-a-special-branch-of-general-philosophy-pathogenesis-had-never-been/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ring-out-false-pride-in-place-and-blood-the-civic-slander-and-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [My identity shifted when I got into # recovery . That's who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/my-identity-shifted-when-i-got-into-recovery-that-s-who-i-am-now-and/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [Jesus never met a disease he could not cure, a birth defect he could not reverse, a demon he could not exorcise. But he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/jesus-never-met-a-disease-he-could-not-cure-a-birth-defect-he-could/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [Religion is a disease. It is born of fear; it compensates through hate in the guise of authority, revelation. Religion, enthroned in a powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-amos-dorsey/religion-is-a-disease-it-is-born-of-fear-it-compensates-through-hate/) [George Amos Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-amos-dorsey/) > [To some degree Satanism is purely a kind of disease of Christianity. You've got to really be Christian to believe in Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/to-some-degree-satanism-is-purely-a-kind-of-disease-of-christianity/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [People do not realize that Alzheimer's is not old age. It is a progressive and fatal disease, and staggering amounts of people develop Alzheimer's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-kanakaredes/people-do-not-realize-that-alzheimer-s-is-not-old-age-it-is-a/) [Melina Kanakaredes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-kanakaredes/) > [Religious work is one of the best ways to keep from facing your reality if you are Christian, if you are using it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-miller/religious-work-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-keep-from-facing-your/) [Keith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-miller/) [Browse all 3,549 Disease quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Except for professional athletes, dancers, cowboys, and a few other groups, most people in modern industrial societies have abnormally low energy expenditures. 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