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Beginning in 1985, we and others presented estimates of hunter‐gatherer (and ultimately ancestral) diet and physical activity, hoping to provide a model for health promotion. The Hunter‐Gatherer Model was designed to offset the apparent mismatch between our genes and the current Western‐type lifestyle, a mismatch that arguably affects prevalence of many chronic degenerative diseases. The effort has always been controversial and subject to both scientific and popular critiques. The present article (1) addresses eight such challenges, presenting for each how the model has been modified in response, or how the criticism can be rebutted; (2) reviews new epidemiological and experimental evidence (including especially randomized controlled clinical trials); and (3) shows how official recommendations put forth by governments and health authorities have converged toward the model. Such convergence suggests that evolutionary anthropology can make significant contributions to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE HADZA: Hunter-Gatherers of Tanzania. Frank W. Marlowe. x + 325 pp. University of California Press, 2010. $65 cloth, $27.50 paper. LIFE HISTORIES OF THE DOBE !KUNG: Food, Fatness, and [...]

THE CASE AGAINST PERFECTION: ETHICS IN THE AGE OF GENETIC ENGINEERING BY MICHAEL J. SANDEL, Belknap Press, 162 pages, $18.95 MOST RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS today not only accept advances in medical [...]

Modeling ancestral dietary pattern is vital in understanding current human nutritional needs. A comparative study indicates that an ordinary Paleolithic diet is analogous to presently recommended diets in East Asia, the Mediterranean, and the one designed by the American Health Association in terms of minimal saturated fatty acid content. Stone Agers' consumption of vegetable and fruits is three times more than the US. Micronutrient intake is higher yet of moderate extent whereas protein and fiber are considerably higher than the present diet.

GENERATION EXTRA LARGE: RESCUING OUR CHILDREN FROM THE EPIDEMIC OF OBESITY BY LISA TARTAMELLA, ELAINE HERSCHER, AND CHRIS WOOLSTON Basic Books, 272 pages, $25.00 OUR OVERWEIGHT CHILDREN: WHAT PARENTS, SCHOOLS, [...]

The roots of religious faith - and the provenance of ethical thought - may be sought in the human sciences, the physical sciences, literature, religious traditions, and deep human intuitions. Gustafson's religious stance and the author's, while different on their face, in common reflect a mingling - and tangling - of skepticism, understanding, and transcendence. Let all of us hope and believe what we can. Keywords: epistemology; ethics; James M. Gustafson; sensus divinitatus; transcendence.

A Forum on the President's Proposals for Reform EMPLOYEE: My boss is a sadistic manic-depressive who humiliates me on a daily basis. The excruciating pressure of the work is relieved [...]