"Diseases of civilization" Evolutionary medicine

1 diseases of civilization

1.1 diet
1.2 life expectancy
1.3 exercise
1.4 cleanliness

diseases of civilization

humans evolved live simple hunter-gatherers in small tribal bands, different way of life , environment compared faced contemporary humans. change makes present humans vulnerable number of health problems, termed diseases of civilization , diseases of affluence . humans evolved live off of land, , take advantage of resources readily available them. evolved stone-age, , environments of today bring many disease causing ailments, may or may not deadly. modern environments may cause many diseases such deficiency syndromes scurvy , rickets (williams, 1991)

diet

in contrast diet of hunter-gatherers, modern western diet contains high quantities of fat, salt, , simple carbohydrates, include refined sugars , flours. these create health problems.

trans fat health risks
dental caries
high gi foods
modern diet based on common wisdom regarding diets in paleolithic era

life expectancy

examples of aging-associated diseases atherosclerosis , cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis, cataracts, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, hypertension , alzheimer s disease. incidence of of these diseases increases rapidly aging (increases exponentially age, in case of cancer).

age-specific seer incidence rates, 2003-2007

of 150,000 people die each day across globe, 2 thirds—100,000 per day—die of age-related causes. in industrialized nations, proportion higher, reaching 90%.

exercise

many contemporary humans engage in little physical exercise compared physically active lifestyles ancestral hunter-gatherers. has been proposed since prolonged periods of inactivity have occurred in humans following illness or injury provides cue body engage in life-preserving metabolic , stress related responses such inflammation cause of many chronic diseases.

cleanliness

contemporary humans - due medical treatment, frequent washing of clothing , body, , improved sanitation - free of parasites, particularly intestinal ones. causes problems in proper development of immune system although hygiene can important when comes maintaining health. hygiene hypothesis says many modern humans not exposed microorganisms have evolved in establishing immune system should be. microorganisms , macroorganisms such helminths mud, animals, , feces play critical role in driving immunoregulation (rook, 2012). play crucial role in building , training immune functions fight off , repel diseases, , protect against excessive inflammation has been implicated in several diseases (such recent evidence alzheimer s disease).