Pnina Vardi, Tel Aviv University, Petah Tikva, Israel
Konstantin Bloch, Tel Aviv University, Petah Tikva, Israel
Published online: March 2008
DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0006077.pub2
Thrifty genes might be responsible for the appearance and increasing frequency of diseases that were uncommon before the emergence of the affluent Western life style. Evolutionary selection of such genes enabled metabolic adaptation to disadvantageous conditions, but now thrifty gene expression is detrimental to health.
Keywords: modern old-age diseases; polygenic diseases; metabolism; diabetes; obesity
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