The man who is sick of himself from Bernard Swynghedauw - Edition Belin (Sciences) - June 2015 - 240 Pages
Everyone knows that human activities are changing our environment on a global scale. They are also profoundly changing our health. Global warming, population growth and ageing, globalized transport, destruction of biodiversity, massive deforestation, multiple forms of pollution, overuse of antibiotics, etc. are all factors that have a worrying impact on human health.
A few figures bear witness to this. In 60 years, 300 new infectious diseases have appeared in humans, such as AIDS. In the same period, the incidence of allergic diseases such as asthma or autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes has almost doubled or even tripled. As for the list of various pollutants, it continues to grow, and with them a host of diseases that may be linked to them.
A few figures bear witness to this. In 60 years, 300 new infectious diseases have appeared in humans, such as AIDS. In the same period, the incidence of allergic diseases such as asthma or autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes has almost doubled or even tripled. As for the list of various pollutants, it continues to grow, and with them a host of diseases that may be linked to them.
In this book, the author shows, with supporting examples, the impact of Man on his own health. He gives a special place to the bacteria in our intestines, which are essential to our survival and whose ecology is also disrupted by our lifestyles. How can we understand the emergence of new diseases and how can we prevent them? Can the human species adapt to the changes it has itself caused? These and many other questions are answered by the author. In this book, he draws a nascent discipline, that of an ecological approach to health taken as a whole.
The author Bernard Swynghedauw is a Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Science, Emeritus Director of Research at the Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (Inserm). He chaired a working group of the Academy of Medicine on "the medical consequences of climate change" and is currently a member of the "adaptation and prospective" group of the High Council of Public Health (HCSP).
