The application of evolutionary thinking to human physical and psychological medicine suggests several pathways through which evolutionary processes affect risk of disease. Among these is the concept of mismatch between an individual and its environment, either because the environment has changed for the whole species ("evolutionary novelty") or…

This article discusses 3 ways in which adaptive developmental mechanisms may produce maladaptive outcomes. First, natural selection may favor risky strategies that enhance fitness on average but which have detrimental consequences for a subset of individuals. Second, mismatch may result when organisms experience environmental change during…