Is the gallbladder the new appendix?

In the past couple years, I have heard numerous people talk about having gallstones and gallbladder surgery; yet I haven’t heard of anyone having appendicitis or an appendectomy in several years (other than a fellow jelly, if I remember correctly).

Does anyone know of statistics on these procedures, or of any clinical theories as to why the gallbladder is becoming a nuisance these days? Is it something about how our diets have changed?

I’m putting this in General, but I’m opening the discussion to some degree of opinion, supposition, and debate on how the human body is evolving – for better or worse – in response to changes in our lifestyles as technology advances. Just please be respectful, and let’s not turn this into a science vs. religion debate.