Figure 1.

A triple evolutionary mismatch in developing populations. Developing populations experience a fast transition from adverse environments (red, dark) to affluent environments (green, light) within a single generation. Western populations have experienced such a transition over multiple generations. While western populations have had the time to adapt culturally and epigenetically to the affluent environments, developing populations have had little time for adaptation and remain not only genetically, but also culturally and epigenetically mismatched with the new affluent environments. This triple evolutionary mismatch renders them more susceptible to noncommunicable diseases than western populations.