S. Boyd Eaton is a

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

and one of the originators of the concept of Paleolithic nutrition. In 1985, he and

Melvin Konner __NOTOC__ Melvin Joel Konner (born August 30, 1946) is an American anthropologist who is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Anthropology and of Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University. Biography Raised in an Orthodox Jewi ...

published a paper, ''Paleolithic Nutrition'', in ''

The New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. Founded in 1812, the journal is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. Its 2023 impact factor w ...

'' which attracted some attention from other researchers.

Life

Eaton was born on March 18, 1938, in

Old Town, Maine Old Town is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The city's developed area is chiefly located on the relatively large Marsh Island, but its boundaries extend beyond it. The island is su ...

. He attended

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, graduating

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

in 1960. He graduated cum laude from

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

in 1964. His residency and fellowship training took place at the

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

(1965–69).

Career

S. Boyd Eaton practiced diagnostic radiology for 41 years, specializing in musculoskeletal disorders. His patients often included members of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, and the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. He worked in West Paces Ferry Hospital for most of his career. In 1988, Eaton, Konner and

Marjorie Shostak Marjorie Shostak (May 11, 1945 – October 6, 1996) was an American anthropologist. Though she never received a formal degree in anthropology, she conducted extensive fieldwork among the !Kung San people of the Kalahari Desert in south-western Af ...

expanded upon their previously proposed “discordance hypothesis” in ''The Paleolithic Prescription'' (Harper & Rowe), the first book in what would become one of the bestselling health categories worldwide. This theory proposes that conditions such as

high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

and

type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes (T2D), formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent ...

result in part from the mismatch between the lifestyle common in

developed nation A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...

s and that for which the human

genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

was originally selected (through

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generation ...

) during the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

Loren Cordain Loren Cordain (born October 24, 1950) is an American scientist who specializes in the fields of nutrition and exercise physiology. He is notable as an advocate of the Paleolithic diet. Education Loren Cordain obtained a B.S. in Health Sciences ...

writes, “There is no doubt in my mind that without Dr. Eaton... Paleo would not have become a household term now recognized by millions”. Eaton was adjunct associate professor of anthropology at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

, and also clinical associate professor of radiology at Emory's School of Medicine. In 1996 he was medical director of the Olympic Village Polyclinic during the

Centennial Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He was featured in the 2012 documentary ''The Perfect Human Diet''.

References

Selected publications

*Eaton, Stanley Boyd, and Stanley Boyd Eaton III. "Paleolithic vs. modern diets–selected pathophysiological implications." European journal of nutrition39.2 (2000): 67-70. *Eaton, S. Boyd, et al. "Dietary intake of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids during the paleolithic." World review of nutrition and dietetics 83 (1998): 12-23. *Eaton, Stanley Boyd. "Radiology of the Pancreas and Duodenum." (1973). *Eaton, S. Boyd, Stanley B. Eaton III, and Loren Cordain. "Evolution, diet, and health." Human diet: Its origin and evolution (2002): 7-18. *Eaton, S. Boyd, Stanley B. Eaton III, and Melvin J. Konner. "Paleolithic nutrition revisited." Evolutionary medicine (1999): 313-332. *Ungar, Peter S., and Mark Franklyn Teaford, eds. Human diet: its origin and evolution. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002.

External links

ResearchGate profile

Life

Career

References

Selected publications

External links

See also