Healthy Community = Good Health

Some people may or may not be aware of the research work conducted many years ago that focused on the peculiar fact that heart disease was nearly non-existent in the residents of Roseto, PA.

I recently came across an article (it noted neighboring Nazareth) in the American Medical Association's Amednews.com that included excerpts from a new book that addressed the impact of community and the mind-body connection to good health (read it here).

One excerpt specifically addressed Roseto, PA. Here is the background:

Wolf was determined to get to the bottom of what he would later call "the Roseto paradox." Teaming up with a sociologist named John Bruhn, he reviewed the history of the town, conducted extensive interviews with the citizens, observed their lifestyle over years, and concluded that there was one key thing that set Roseto apart from its neighbors. Unlike Bangor and Nazareth, Roseto had been settled early in the previous century by immigrants from a poor town in southern Italy who had traveled together from the Old Country to build a new life for themselves. On arriving in Pennsylvania, the newcomers "were forced by snobbish neighbors" -- towns settled previously by immigrants from England and Wales -- "to look out entirely for themselves, to support one another for survival and to form their own enclave."

And this is what they found to be the reason why heart disease was unheard of in the town:

Denied the opportunity to assimilate, the newly immigrated Rosetans created an oasis of Old World values and customs in the heart of a rapidly modernizing America.

Not surprisingly, when a younger generation felt compelled to join modern America, heart disease and ailments arrived.

In 1963, reading the writing on the wall, Wolf made a bold prediction: if the new generation of Rosetans did indeed abandon the ways of the "old people," Roseto would cease to be a haven from heart disease. It did not take many years before he had the opportunity to test his hypothesis. Young people started marrying non-Italians, leaving the Church, moving into new suburban houses, joining country clubs, and taking up golf; some women even joined Weight Watchers! In the words of one observer, "It seemed like a capsulized, accelerated fulfillment of the American dream."

And in 1971 the first heart-attack of a person under 45 years of age occurred.

In spite of new efforts by townspeople to cut down on smoking and fat consumption, coronary heart disease more than doubled through the 1970s, hypertension tripled, and there was a substantial increase in strokes. By the end of the decade, the number of fatal heart attacks in the town had risen to the national average. Wolf's prediction, it seemed clear, had come tragically true.

So a positive outlook, regular engagement with family and friends, activity in civic groups and church, refuting envy, healthy eating, and exercise will together contribute to a long and healthy life.

Looks to me like a pretty good reason to laugh allot, complain less, be constructive more often, and to get engaged with local groups and organizations who could really use your help!