Doves, Diplomats, and Diabetes [electronic resource] : A Darwinian Interpretation of Type 2 Diabetes and Related Disorders / by Milind Watve.

1. A Darwinian Way of Thinking -- 2. Diabetes in a Textbook -- 3. Diabetes in an Undergraduate Class -- 4. The Rise and Fall of Thrift -- 5. Of Hawks and Doves -- 6. Of Soldiers and Diplomats -- 7. The Physiology of Aggression -- 8. Deploying the Immunological Garrison -- 9. Why Population Density Matters -- 10. Time to Give up Stress -- 11. Fat: Beyond Energy Storage -- 12. Why Blood Sugar Goes up -- 13. Beating Around the ‘Wrong’ Bush? -- 14. Behavioral Deficiencies and Behavioral Supplementation: -- 15. Where do we Go From Here? -- Appendix I. Genes/molecules that are associated with aggression and also associated with some component of metabolic syndrome -- Appendix II. Network model of type 2 diabetes -- Appendix III. Model for the Effect of population density on aggression -- Appendix IV. Glucose homeostasis model.

Type 2 diabetes, obesity and other lifestyle disorders are a growing health concern in the modern world. Despite decades of research and worldwide efforts, there are no signs of curbing the growing epidemic. It is time to rethink whether there is something fundamentally wrong in our understanding of the origins and the etiology of these disorders. A probe into evolutionary origins of the disorders is likely to give us new insights into the basic biology behind them. Reviewing prior hypotheses of the evolutionary origins of type 2 diabetes, Dr. Milind Watve takes several important steps toward a radically different perspective. Based on an extensive compilation and reinterpretation of research over the last two decades, Doves, Diplomats, and Diabetes challenges some of the prevalent theories, including whether obesity is central to insulin resistance, whether insulin resistance is central to type 2 diabetes and whether raised blood sugar is the real cause of the diabetic complications. What emerges is an alternative interpretation of type 2 diabetes and related disorders. Behavior is proposed to be an important driver of endocrine and metabolic state. This book illustrates specific links between behavior and metabolism and demonstrates how the deficiency of certain stone-age behaviors is leading to modern health problems. It demonstrates how brain and behavior regulate glucose dynamics in the body. The concept of behavioral deficiency disorders is a potential paradigm shift that would stimulate research is a new direction. The central arguments in the book are based on substantial backing from epidemiological and experimental evidence, systems-level analysis and mathematical models. In spite of the inherent complexity of the subject the book is written with a style that makes it readable to any reader interested in basic biology, evolution, medicine or health.