Eaton S B, Konner M, Shostak M
Department of Anthropology, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322.
Am J Med. 1988 Apr;84(4):739-49. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(88)90113-1.
From a genetic standpoint, humans living today are Stone Age hunter-gatherers displaced through time to a world that differs from that for which our genetic constitution was selected. Unlike evolutionary maladaptation, our current discordance has little effect on reproductive success; rather it acts as a potent promoter of chronic illnesses: atherosclerosis, essential hypertension, many cancers, diabetes mellitus, and obesity among others. These diseases are the results of interaction between genetically controlled biochemical processes and a myriad of biocultural influences--lifestyle factors--that include nutrition, exercise, and exposure to noxious substances. Although our genes have hardly changed, our culture has been transformed almost beyond recognition during the past 10,000 years, especially since the Industrial Revolution. There is increasing evidence that the resulting mismatch fosters "diseases of civilization" that together cause 75 percent of all deaths in Western nations, but that are rare among persons whose lifeways reflect those of our preagricultural ancestors.
从遗传学角度来看，如今生活的人类是被时光推移到一个与我们基因构成所适应的世界不同的世界的石器时代狩猎采集者。与进化适应不良不同，我们当前的不和谐对生殖成功影响很小；相反，它是慢性疾病的有力推动者，这些慢性疾病包括动脉粥样硬化、原发性高血压、多种癌症、糖尿病以及肥胖症等等。这些疾病是基因控制的生化过程与无数生物文化影响（即生活方式因素，包括营养、运动以及接触有害物质）相互作用的结果。虽然我们的基因几乎没有变化，但在过去一万年里，尤其是自工业革命以来，我们的文化已经发生了几乎难以辨认的转变。越来越多的证据表明，由此产生的不匹配助长了“文明病”，这些疾病在西方国家导致了75%的死亡，但在生活方式反映我们前农业祖先的人群中却很少见。
