ANHB1102 Study Guide - Final Guide: Cardiovascular Disease, Melatonin, Visual Impairment
3 Jun 2018
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TOPIC FIFTEEN: Evolution and Disease
Human Evolution and the Modern Anatomy:
Today the strongest force of selection in humans is the gene-cultural adaptation.
Many medical procedures allow better survival and affect differential
reproductive success. However, many diseases that affect us today are
consequences of our evolutionary past. This because natural selection has no
long-term plan and can only select on the genetic material that is available at the
time.
Endurance Walking and Running
Humans have evolved to walk and run long distances and our long-term health
has always depended on this requirement for daily exercise. However, many
mismatch diseases have resulted from a more modern lifestyle, which relies on
transportation and sitting down for long periods of time.
Digestive System
Our digestive anatomy and physiology reflects a strongly herbivorous past. Our
ancestors were able to utilize a wide range of plant food supplemented with
opportunistic meat eating. Capturing and eating animal prey was energetically
costly for primate ancestors, which is why they relied heavily on plants. However
even the earliest human technology has reduced this energy cost and introduced
a wider variety in our diet.
Agriculture and Farming
The human body has been selected to cope with a patchy, unpredictable
environment, with bodies adapted for relative feast and famine. As a result, our
earlier hunter-gatherer lifestyle was more variable, with greater variety of food
cultured from unprocessed sources.
Things started to go wrong for humans with the introduction of agriculture.
There was a greater reliance on carbohydrates, a poorer source of food. At this
time, there were higher concentrations of people living in areas, providing a
reservoir for many infectious diseases, so this carbohydrate-rich diet was being
farmed in new, poorer conditions. However, this resulted in a higher
reproductive rate, and the increase in children meant there was a greater labour
force.
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Document Summary
Today the strongest force of selection in humans is the gene-cultural adaptation. Many medical procedures allow better survival and affect differential reproductive success. However, many diseases that affect us today are consequences of our evolutionary past. This because natural selection has no long-term plan and can only select on the genetic material that is available at the time. Humans have evolved to walk and run long distances and our long-term health has always depended on this requirement for daily exercise. However, many mismatch diseases have resulted from a more modern lifestyle, which relies on transportation and sitting down for long periods of time. Our digestive anatomy and physiology reflects a strongly herbivorous past. Our ancestors were able to utilize a wide range of plant food supplemented with opportunistic meat eating. Capturing and eating animal prey was energetically costly for primate ancestors, which is why they relied heavily on plants.
