Figure 3.

Schematic of a natural experimental model in modernizing populations. The model is built on change and comparison of change across the same population temporally and/or across different populations. The major components of the model include: sociocultural and behavioral changes, environmental modification in a temporal context, migration and population movement, a redistribution of genes, and an exposure to novel events and conditions, all of which either could induce, ameliorate, or enhance specific risk factors for health and disease outcomes.