In a blistering afternoon in northern Tanzania, a game of musical chairs was being played. Seeking respite from the sun, a group of individuals stumbled back into camp, desperate for a seat. The only unoccupied camp chair was occupied by Onawasi, a respected elder with a mischievous streak. He seemed to be enjoying the situation.
This group was spending their summer with the Hadza community, one of the last populations of hunter-gatherers in the world. The Hadza people have managed to avoid diseases like heart disease that are common in more industrialized societies, and the group wanted to understand why. Equipped with technology to measure every movement and calorie burned, the small research team joined the Hadza men and women as they went about their daily routines of hunting and gathering wild game, honey, tubers, and berries.
After a long morning in the sweltering heat, the group felt drained and exhausted. All they wanted to do was sit down. But the camp chair they had brought along, despite its weight, had become a magnet for the Hadza people. Visitors to the research area were drawn to the chairs like moths to a porch light.
The group soon realized they had a lot to learn from the Hadza about maintaining physical activity. However, they also discovered that the Hadza had something important to teach about the importance of rest. Over the course of the next 10 years, they would understand why chairs are so tempting and why they can have negative health effects.
