Walking the Walk to Teach the Talk: Implementing Ancestral Lifestyle Strategies as the Newest Tool in Evolutionary Studies

The learning of evolutionary theory typically takes place in the classroom or laboratory. Students of these traditional approaches often leave with the notion that applications of evolutionary theory have little bearing on their lives. The Evolutionary Studies Consortium (EvoS; evostudies.org) has been extremely successful in overcoming these barriers and demonstrating the bridges across academic areas that can be created with the principles of evolution as a guide. While this is a fantastic means through which to educate students about the intricacies of evolution, we believe that the full potential of this approach has yet to be realized. Applications beyond strict academic contexts are still waiting to be mined. Here, we outline an approach that proposes the implementation of a nutrition and physical fitness program, alongside classroom pedagogy, as a means of helping students learn about evolution and how it can be used to increase their own quality of life. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.