Mismatch: Why Our World No Longer Fits Our Bodies - Hardcover

Gluckman, Peter; Hanson, Mark

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9780192806833: Mismatch: Why Our World No Longer Fits Our Bodies
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0192806831 ISBN 13: 9780192806833
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2006

Synopsis

Our bodies and body processes evolved to allow our ancestors the best chance of survival as hunter-gatherers in the Savannah. Our brains, on the other hand, have evolved intelligence, imagination, and foresight, allowing us to leave all other creatures behind, and develop complex societies, cultures, and lifestyles, far removed from those of our ancestors.

The development of a modern human in utero still reflects our past, and we have created a modern, artificial world that is out of tune with our evolved bodies. Could it be that this mismatch has led to the current deadly explosion in 'lifestyle' diseases such as diabetes and obesity, and will it lead to increasingly frequent epidemics? We appear unable to evolve out of this problem, and unwilling to return to a different way of life, so how can we understand and address this increasingly crucial challenge?

Gluckman and Hanson set out the case, examining issues that are at times controversial and speculative. Utilizing the latest research in epigenetics (that genes may be environmentally modified), they propose that intervention in early human development, alongside a better focus on the health of potential mothers, can make future generations better suited to the modern world.

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About the Author

Peter Gluckman is University Distinguished Professor, Professor of Paediatrics and Perinatal Biology, and Director of the Liggins Institute for Medical Research and the National Center for Growth and Development, at the University of Auckland.
Mark Hanson directs the Centre for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease at the University of Southampton, and is an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Honorary professor at the University of Auckland.

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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Publication date
2006
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0192806831
ISBN 13 
9780192806833
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
304
Rating
  • 3.83 out of 5 stars
    87 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780199228386: Mismatch: The Lifestyle Diseases Timebomb

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0199228388 ISBN 13:  9780199228386
Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008
Softcover