I admit I am a sucker for TV documentaries about our special furry friends in the animal kingdom who reportedly share over 90 per cent of our DNA. When considering the subtle similarities and differences between ourselves, bonobos, chimpanzees and other great apes, there seems to be some valuable insight into what makes us distinctly ‘human’.

I came across a wonderful experiment on one such production that sought to investigate some of the differences specifically between human and chimpanzee infants. The infants, both of the furry and not-so-furry varieties, participated in a range of tasks and games, most telling of which involved extracting a sweet treat from a mechanical box.

The box contained various drawers, openings and buttons, with the treat housed somewhere inside. The treat would also be in the same place, but the infants were shown a specific sequence they needed to complete to successfully extract the treat. Various drawers were to be opened, dummy buttons pressed and other seemingly pointless gestures completed before actually opening the correct one and winning the treat.

A fascinating surprise appeared to unravel before the researchers’ eyes. While the chimpanzees quickly figured out the preceding steps were totally unnecessary, greedily jumping straight to the defining step of opening the correct drawer and gobbling down the treat, the humans stuck rigidly to the pointless routine, appearing somewhat daft beside their primate cousins. Are infant chimpanzees really smarter than infant humans? Actually, no. What the experiment revealed was that we seem to be hardwired to trust and learn from those more knowledgeable than us. It is precisely this trust that has allowed the human race to effectively transfer knowledge from one generation to the next. The same researchers also experimented with establishing what they termed “learning triangles” with the two species.

If everyone refers a friend to healthier ways, then good health may spread like wildfire

The human infant will typically direct full attention to something being shown or highlighted by an adult, connecting all three agents including adult, infant and object, by common attention. The triangle was almost impossible to achieve with the chimpanzee infants, who simply could not maintain any more than fleeting momentary attention on whatever the adult was trying to show them.

Good teachers and coaches appreciate this all-too-human capacity for teaching and learning and consequently utilise a range of strategies to complement this hardwiring and maximise effective grasping of knowledge and skills. Many instructors, trainers, teachers or coaches understand, for instance, that getting a learner to teach others is an effective strategy in itself for grasping knowledge or skill in greater depth.

Physical education teachers will often get their students to check each other’s technique and performance, identify areas for improvement and actively correct each other. In doing so, students reinforce the cues they were taught and get to reflect on their own performance too. So what does all this have to do with getting fitter and healthier?

Well, I have noticed anecdotally that sports and fitness students learning to promote healthy living tend to become more inclined to incorporate such improvements in their own lives upon analysing the lifestyles of others. In the process, they also gain a deeper understanding of the actual principles of healthy living themselves. So what would happen if we tried to apply this hardwired tendency across the board?

You do not have to be a sports or fitness professional to encourage others to start making healthier choices. We all want our friends and loved ones to live long and healthy lives, so there is as good a place to start as any. I therefore propose what could very well turn out to be the most profitable referral programme you ever considered.

Businesses love using referral programmes as an incentive for agents or clients themselves to promote their products and services. We have seen enough network marketing schemes sweep across our islands over recent years to highlight the potential selling power of referrals and personal recommendations in a place like Malta where we still value word of mouth.

The particular referral scheme I propose, however, does not involve any money changing hands in any shape or form. The benefit to be gained is better health all round, period. Encourage someone today, without reference to any products or services whatsoever, to consider making healthier lifestyle choices.

By working towards 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, avoiding or managing stress, eating healthier according to European guidelines on healthy eating available from the European food information council and cutting down on your intake of harmful synthetic or toxic substances like cigarettes or alcohol, you can improve the appearance of your body and state of your health. By suggesting any changes to this effect in friends and loved ones, you will be more likely to successfully implement such improvements yourself.

Let us start building some health triangles and tap into another all-too-human desire to strive together towards a common goal. If everyone refers a friend to healthier ways and more effectively manages their own lifestyle choices in the process, then good health may spread like wildfire in what has to be one of the most worthy referral schemes ever.

matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt