Evolutionary Medicine and Health New Perspectives

by Trevathan, Wenda R.; Smith, E. O.; McKenna, James

• ISBN13: 9780195307054
• ISBN10: 0195307054
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Building on the success of their groundbreaking anthology Evolutionary Medicine (OUP, 1999), Wenda R. Trevathan, E. O. Smith, and James J. McKenna provide an up-to-date and thought-provoking introduction to the field with this new collection of essays. Ideal for courses in evolutionarymedicine, medical anthropology, and the evolution of human disease, Evolutionary Medicine and Health: New Perspectives presents twenty-three original articles that examine how human evolution relates to a broad range of contemporary health problems including infectious, chronic, nutritional, andmental diseases and disorders. Topics covered include disease susceptibility in cultural context, substance abuse and addiction, sleep disorders, preeclampsia, altitude-related hypoxia, the biological context of menstruation, and the role of stress in modern life. An international team of preeminentscholars in biological anthropology, medicine, biology, psychology, and geography contributed the selections. Together they represent a uniquely integrative and multidisciplinary approach that takes into account the dialogue between biology and culture as it relates to understanding, treating, andpreventing disease. A common theme throughout is the description of cases in which biological human development conflicts with culturally based individual behaviors that determine health outcomes. Detailed, evidence-based arguments make the case that all aspects of the human condition covered in thevolume have an evolutionary basis, while theoretical discussions using other empirical evidence critique the gaps that still remain in evolutionary approaches to health. Evolutionary Medicine and Health: New Perspectives features an introductory overview that covers the field's diverse array of topics, questions, lines of evidence, and perspectives. In addition, the editors provide introductions to each essay and an extensive bibliography that represents astate-of-the-art survey of the literature. A companion website at www.oup.com/us/evolmed offers a full bibliography and links to source articles, reports, and databases. Written in an engaging style that is accessible to students, professionals, and general readers, this book offers a unique look athow an evolutionary perspective has become increasingly relevant to the health field and medical practice.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Contributors	p. xi
Background
Introduction and Overview of Evolutionary Medicine	p. 1
Politics, Nutrition, and Diet
Human Evolution, Diet, and Nutrition: When the Body Meets the Buffet	p. 55
Diabesity and Darwinian Medicine: The Evolution of an Epidemic	p. 72
To Eat or What Not To Eat, That's the Question: A Critique of the Official Norwegian Dietary Guidelines	p. 96
Cow's Milk Consumption and Health: An Evolutionary Perspective	p. 116
Sex, Reproduction, and Health
Not by Bread Alone: The Role of Psychosocial Stress in Age at First Reproduction and Health Inequalities	p. 134
Early Life Effects on Reproductive Function	p. 149
Impaired Reproductive Function in Women in Western and "Westernizing" Populations: An Evolutionary Approach	p. 169
Should Women Menstruate? An Evolutionary Perspective on Menstrual-Suppressing Oral Contraceptives	p. 181
An Evolutionary Perspective on Premenstrual Syndrome: Implications for Investigating Infectious Causes of Chronic Disease	p. 196
Possible Role of Eclampsia/Preeclampsia in Evolution of Human Reproduction	p. 216
Environments, Normality, and Lifetime Health
Breastfeeding and Mother-Infant Sleep Proximity: Implications for Infant Care	p. 226
Why Words Can Hurt Us: Social Relationships, Stress, and Health	p. 242
Why Are We Vulnerable to Acute Mountain Sickness?	p. 259
Evolution and Modern Behavioral Problems: The Case of Addiction	p. 277
After Dark: The Evolutionary Ecology of Human Sleep	p. 291
Chronic Diseases, Old Treatments, and More Misunderstanding
Evolutionary Medicine and Obesity: Developmental Adaptive Responses in Human Body Composition	p. 314
The Developmental Origins of Adult Health: Intergenerational Inertia in Adaptation and Disease	p. 325
An Evolutionary Perspective on the Causes of Chronic Diseases: Atherosclerosis as an Illustration	p. 350
Genes, Geographic Ancestry, and Disease Susceptibility: Applications of Evolutionary Medicine to Clinical Settings	p. 368
From Ancient Seas to Modem Disease: Evolution and Congestive Heart Failure	p. 382
Evolution at the Intersection of Biology and Medicine	p. 399
The Importance of Evolution for Medicine	p. 416
Notes	p. 435
References	p. 441
Index	p. 523
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