Disease and the transition to a modern diet

Good post by Stephan Guyenet from Whole Health Source, Dr. Kevin Patterson on Western Diets and Health, about a Canadian physician Kevin Patterson who writes about the diseases of civilization and the transition from a traditional diet among native peoples of Canada to a more "modern" one -- full of processed foods and cheap calories.

He discusses the "epidemiological transition", the idea that cultures experience predictable changes in their health as they go from hunter-gatherer, to agricultural, to industrial. I think he has an uncommonly good perspective on the effects of industrialization on human health, which tends to be true of people who have witnessed the effects of the industrial diet and lifestyle on diverse cultures.

Jump over for more.  Reading through that brought be to an article written by Kevin Patterson Diseases of Affluence. In it he discusses his experience as a doctor in Afghanistan, and the lives of traditional Polynesian and arctic peoples.

Around the world, as traditional peoples and societies have been absorbed into the global monoculture, the prevalence of diabetes has exploded. Since 2001, premature death from obesity has exceeded death from malnutrition. The milestone was reached at almost the same time as another: for the first time in history, the number of urbanites exceeds the number of rural dwellers. Canada is an example. For all its magnificent and extensive wilderness, 87 percent of the population lives in a community with at least ten thousand neighbours. Afghans are at the other end: less than 12 percent live in cities. No lattes, no internet, no phone, no pool. And no XXXL elastic stretch pants. After wealth and death rates, the biggest difference between Afghanistan and Canada—and the hallmark of the world’s creeping homogeneity—is urbanization.

An excellent discussion of the key issues facing all of us who have already made the transition, and what we consider "normal" parts of daily life and aging.

(Cross posted to ISDSI sustainability blog)