More people in the west are likely to die of a degenerative disease than of an infection; infectious diseases such as measles and insect-borne ones like malaria are the killers of the Third World. Professor Learmonth examines patterns of disease and their changes over time throughout the world, pointing out that so-called «tropical» diseases include many formerly common in temperate countries, while «western» diseases are becoming increasingly common in urban elites in the Third World.
The book presents a broad picture of the distribution of disease, considering the causes and interrelations between life styles, climate, food, health care and disease.