Chapter 17: The Shrinking Face and the Indoor Generation
Human jaws have been shrinking for 10,000 years. The result: crowded teeth, impacted wisdom teeth, sleep apnea, and a myopia epidemic affecting 90% of young adults in East Asia.
◆ Key Insights
Orthodontic braces are a $12 billion industry treating a problem that didn't exist before processed food softened our diet
Myopia has reached 90% prevalence in young adults in South Korea and Singapore -- ancestral humans had virtually none
Children who spend 3+ hours per day outdoors have dramatically lower myopia rates regardless of study time
Sleep apnea is partly a jaw-shrinkage problem: smaller airways in smaller faces that never received the chewing stimulus they needed
The fix isn't genetic -- it's mechanical. Hard food and outdoor light during development prevent both conditions
Read the full chapter to learn why your face is literally smaller than your ancestors' -- and what that's doing to your breathing and vision.
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