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9781108737579

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'Is it really possible to bring together philosophy, economics, history, evolutionary biology, epidemiology, nutrition and metabolism to understand obesity and chronic disease? Jonathan C. K. Wells has done it in an immensely readable and insightful way. A wonderful book.' Michael Marmot, University College London 'No other book before has provided such a sophisticated and eloquent argument integrating knowledge about foetal and childhood environment and nutrition, with impacts of social, economic and historical factors. Jonathan C. K. Wells persuasively argues that a broad scope and an evolutionary framework are necessary to build our understanding of chronic and globally important diseases. Consequently, [he] succeeds in achieving a true consilience of very disparate perspectives on our health.' Grazyna Jasienska, Jagiellonian University, Poland ' [T]his book is a sobering look at how social hierarchy can undermine the health of the lower-ranked within a society and within the global economic order. A significant strength of the book lies in the variety of perspective and conceptual models evaluated. ... It is an ambitious book that tackles big questions ...' Darna L. Dufour, American Journal of Human Biology 'The Metabolic Ghetto is both a scholarly book and a call to action. Wells's arguments are carefully presented and well documented ... Readers who are interested in the ways in which social structures affect health and who would like to understand the central role of nutrition in mediating the effects of socioeconomic inequalities on health will learn much from this book. Readers who are interested in global health will especially welcome Wells's international perspective and his concern for the health of people in low- and middle-income countries as well as for those in economically advantaged societies. ... the readers who will be most attracted to the book are those who, in Marx's words, believe that the task of natural philosophers is not only to interpret the world but to change it.' Robert L. Perlman, American Journal of Physical Anthropology 'Is it really possible to bring together philosophy, economics, history, evolutionary biology, epidemiology, nutrition and metabolism to understand obesity and chronic disease? Jonathan C. K. Wells has done it in an immensely readable and insightful way. A wonderful book.' Michael Marmot, University College London 'No other book before has provided such a sophisticated and eloquent argument integrating knowledge about foetal and childhood environment and nutrition, with impacts of social, economic and historical factors. Jonathan C. K. Wells persuasively argues that a broad scope and an evolutionary framework are necessary to build our understanding of chronic and globally important diseases. Consequently, [he] succeeds in achieving a true consilience of very disparate perspectives on our health.' Grazyna Jasienska, Jagiellonian University, Poland ' [T]his book is a sobering look at how social hierarchy can undermine the health of the lower-ranked within a society and within the global economic order. A significant strength of the book lies in the variety of perspective and conceptual models evaluated. ... It is an ambitious book that tackles big questions ...' Darna L. Dufour, American Journal of Human Biology 'The Metabolic Ghetto is both a scholarly book and a call to action. Wells's arguments are carefully presented and well documented ... Readers who are interested in the ways in which social structures affect health and who would like to understand the central role of nutrition in mediating the effects of socioeconomic inequalities on health will learn much from this book. Readers who are interested in global health will especially welcome Wells's international perspective and his concern for the health of people in low- and middle-income countries as well as for those in economically advantaged societies. ... the readers who will be most attracted to the book are those who, in Marx's words, believe that the task of natural philosophers is not only to interpret the world but to change it.' Robert L. Perlman, American Journal of Physical Anthropology

'Is it really possible to bring together philosophy, economics, history, evolutionary biology, epidemiology, nutrition and metabolism to understand obesity and chronic disease? Jonathan Wells has done it in an immensely readable and insightful way. A wonderful book.' Michael Marmot, University College London 'No other book before has provided such a sophisticated and eloquent argument integrating knowledge about foetal and childhood environment and nutrition, with impacts of social, economic and historical factors. Jonathan Wells persuasively argues that a broad scope and an evolutionary framework are necessary to build our understanding of chronic and globally important diseases. Consequently, [he] succeeds in achieving a true consilience of very disparate perspectives on our health.' Grazyna Jasienska, Jagiellonian University, Poland Is it really possible to bring together philosophy, economics, history, evolutionary biology, epidemiology, nutrition and metabolism to understand obesity and chronic disease? Jonathan Wells has done it in an immensely readable and insightful way. A wonderful book. Michael Marmot, University College London No other book before has provided such a sophisticated and eloquent argument integrating knowledge about foetal and childhood environment and nutrition, with impacts of social, economic and historical factors. Jonathan Wells persuasively argues that a broad scope and an evolutionary framework are necessary to build our understanding of chronic and globally important diseases. Consequently, [he] succeeds in achieving a true consilience of very disparate perspectives on our health. Grazyna Jasienska, Jagiellonian University, Poland

'Is it really possible to bring together philosophy, economics, history, evolutionary biology, epidemiology, nutrition and metabolism to understand obesity and chronic disease? Jonathan C. K. Wells has done it in an immensely readable and insightful way. A wonderful book.' Michael Marmot, University College London 'No other book before has provided such a sophisticated and eloquent argument integrating knowledge about foetal and childhood environment and nutrition, with impacts of social, economic and historical factors. Jonathan C. K. Wells persuasively argues that a broad scope and an evolutionary framework are necessary to build our understanding of chronic and globally important diseases. Consequently, [he] succeeds in achieving a true consilience of very disparate perspectives on our health.' Grazyna Jasienska, Jagiellonian University, Poland ' [T]his book is a sobering look at how social hierarchy can undermine the health of the lower-ranked within a society and within the global economic order. A significant strength of the book lies in the variety of perspective and conceptual models evaluated. … It is an ambitious book that tackles big questions …' Darna L. Dufour, American Journal of Human Biology 'The Metabolic Ghetto is both a scholarly book and a call to action. Wells's arguments are carefully presented and well documented … Readers who are interested in the ways in which social structures affect health and who would like to understand the central role of nutrition in mediating the effects of socioeconomic inequalities on health will learn much from this book. Readers who are interested in global health will especially welcome Wells's international perspective and his concern for the health of people in low- and middle-income countries as well as for those in economically advantaged societies. … the readers who will be most attracted to the book are those who, in Marx's words, believe that the task of natural philosophers is not only to interpret the world but to change it.' Robert L. Perlman, American Journal of Physical Anthropology

Author Information

Jonathan C. K. Wells is Professor of Anthropology and Paediatric Nutrition at the Institute of Child Health, University College London, and a leading international researcher in the field of paediatric nutrition. His empirical research focuses on human growth, body composition and metabolism, and is complemented by the development of evolutionary perspectives on these topics. He has contributed extensively to the scientific literature and is the author of The Evolutionary Biology of Human Body Fatness: Thrift and Control (Cambridge, 2010).

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