Public health for paediatricians: how an evolutionary perspective can help us improve children’s well-being

Abstract

Humans lived as hunter-gatherers for 95% of our 200 000-year history.1 Social scientists call our modern societies ‘WEIRD’: Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic.1 In evolutionary terms, the last 10 000 years that we have not lived as hunter-gatherers is brief. Dobzshansky2 famously stated that ‘Nothing makes sense in biology, except in the light of evolution’. This is also true for medicine and for paediatrics. We suggest that it is important for paediatricians to consider the evolutionary view, as small adjustments from a public health perspective might make it easier for children to thrive. See Box 1 for some key evolutionary concepts, which we discuss in greater detail in the following sections. Box 1 ### : Key concepts in evolutionary science