No wonder Death Worlders are so sought after for the Guard!

[Ahistorian]

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/03/why-exercise-alone-wont-save-us

 

 

Evidence about bone strength and density gleaned from fossils of early humans suggests that, for hundreds of thousands of years, normal levels of movement were much higher than ours today. And the range of work required of the human body to subsist was sizeable: everything from foraging for food and finding water to hunting, constructing basic shelters, manufacturing tools and evading predators. The fossil record tells us that many prehistoric humans were stronger and fitter than today’s Olympians.

 

And that's just on Earth! Imagine how borderline superheroic Catachans and their like must be!

[GreenScorpion]

Well people tend to forget that survival of the fittest is still a thing in many parts of the world.

I saw some years ago a documentary on salt miners in Africa which extracted roughly 1kg blocks of salt to sell (they did it by eye and apparently they missed by less than 10% or so) and they lived in an area where the temperatures during the day were mostly around the recorded maximum values and their families had to walk 30-40 km just to find water to drink and cook.

I can barely stand 40ºC in the shade (I have considered moving to a country in the North because summers with 42-45ºC are not something I want to have again) so I imagine those salt miners are way tougher than most europeans/westerners.

[Leonaides]

Evolution in practice. There is a reason there are so many kenyan long-distance runners for example (and doping doesnt explain it either). For another, western europeans have evolved a higher tolerance for alcohol than east asians - suggested as because while over there cultures learnt to boil water to sterilise it, over here we brewed beer which sterilised it. For much of the last couple of thousand years it was far safer to drink Small beer (so low alcohol varieties) than drink water in the UK so you had to be able to tolerate a bit more alcohol. These are all generalisations please note.

[Domhnall]

Evolution in practice. There is a reason there are so many kenyan long-distance runners for example (and doping doesnt explain it either). For another, western europeans have evolved a higher tolerance for alcohol than east asians - suggested as because while over there cultures learnt to boil water to sterilise it, over here we brewed beer which sterilised it. For much of the last couple of thousand years it was far safer to drink Small beer (so low alcohol varieties) than drink water in the UK so you had to be able to tolerate a bit more alcohol. These are all generalisations please note.

 

If I remember correctly, the reason Kenyan and Ethiopian runners are so good is that both coutries have very mountainous regions where the best runners originate. Because they train in relatively lower oxygen environment they get a benefit when they run in other countries because of the (relatively) extra oxygen they have available. 

 

Another adaption difference between Europeans and Asians is based on their agriculture. European agriculture was wheat/grain based, which is beneficial to use oxen/cattle to do a lot of the work. We got milk from cattle, so we have a lactose tolerance which some Asians don't (I think Japan has the highest percentage of lactose intolerance, but I could be wrong)

 

Asian agriculture was rice based, which is more human work intensive, and didn't use cattle (as much or at not all I'm not sure). As their diet is more plant based, they have a longer gut (intestine) to help digestion and extract more nutrients from their food. 

 

The question is, which area/country/people of current earth would produce the best specialists, if the Imperium arrived tomorrow and took 'volunteers' from every corner of the globe. I'd exclude any military personnel, and just stick with the average citizen for fairness (military chaps in places like the UK & US are hard as compared to the average sappy person on the street).

[Leonaides]

Take your pick from any active hotspots i'd suggest... With a side order of anywhere where conscription still occurs and/or compulsory miltary service so new recruits are starting with a better base level of knowledge and/or familiarisation with generic unit organisation/basic small unit tactics and firearms handling.

 

Whether or not the better general health level and education from a 'first world' country is more useful than the potential experience/survival skills of a rural 'third world' setting is more advantageous depends entirely on what you want them to do. You want low tech jungle fighter formations maybe you dont choose someone who's learnt to fly a plane by the time they are 15 at Eton (ridiculous example I know). Equally, you want a highly trained and equipped armoured infantry battalion, maybe you dont start with a lost tribe from a remote Amazon rainforest environment.