HEALTHY SOCIAL NETWORKS
Steven Geanopulos, DC
I have just finished another enjoyable book by best selling author Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers, The Story of Success. This is not your typical self help book. In this book the author attempts to study success as it relates to chance, timing, and luck in addition to extraordinarily hard work and time devoted to your craft.
What I found most interesting for the purposes of my profession and this article was the discussion of the Roseto effect. Roseto, Pennsylvania is a town that had a rather homogeneous population of Italian immigrants from the same region in southern Italy. It was discovered, in the 1960′s that this population suffered from heart disease in an unusually low rate when compared to the rest of the U.S., and when compared to the rest of Pennsylvania, as well as to the towns right next to them. The researchers ruled out any genetic gift; other immigrants from the same region that settled in other not so homogeneous communities in the U.S. did not fair as well. They ruled out any special healthy diet; the residents of Roseto actually stopped eating like their relatives in Italy, and began to cook with lard and have issues with obesity like the rest of the U.S. They had the same blue collar labor professions as the rest of that region of Pennsylvania, therefore no exercise or activities unique to them.
What they discovered was Rosetans had a social framework that was very much like their hometown of Roseto, in southern Italy. They visited often with friends and extended family, they socialized by walking into each others homes and yards. Three generations of Rosetans lived under the same roof. People are nourished by other people. The importance of social networks in health and longevity has been confirmed again by study of a close-knit Italian-American community in Roseto, Pennsylvania”.
You see, the Rosetans did not have any unique behaviors. And because of their healthy social relationships and networks they were dying of old age, not disease.
The Roseto effect has been known for years, this is not new science. This study has been helpful in underscoring the mental/psychological control the nervous system has in contributing to health and wellbeing. This of course is not an excuse to drink and smoke as long as you have healthy social relationships. As a matter of fact as the years passed and the Rosetans became less like homogenized Italians and more like Americans they began to suffer at the same rates that the rest of the American population does. How well we live is more important than how long we live.
The reason this story is included in Outliers, is because of the importance of social structure and networks. The reason this story is included in this newsletter is because of the emphasis we give to our patients regarding the 3 dimensional approach to health and wellness; Physical, bio-chemical and mental/psychological. Each is equally important not only for the sake of longevity but for quality of life.
Steven Geanopulos, DC
FAMILY CHIROPRACTIC / CENTER FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Providing the families of our community with a proactive approach to health and wellness.
Phone: 212-928-3300
Email: SG [-AT-] NYfamilyChiropractic.com
Website: www.NYfamilyChiropractic.com