OVERALL RATING Poor
STRENGTHS Author has interesting Canadian connections
WEAKNESSES Information from studies is presented in a selective fashion
AUDIENCE General
This book is intended to inform the public of the “scientifically proven secrets of the world’s healthiest and longest-living peoples”—inhabitants of Abkhasia, Vilcabamba, Hunza, and Okinawa. In addition to the frugal diet and vigorous exercise of these remote peoples, Robbins hypothesizes that personal relationships, love, and interconnectivity additionally increase lifespan and health.
The author has some interesting Canadian connections. Forswearing any gain from the success of his father’s company, the Baskin-Robbins ice cream empire, he lived for 10 years off the land on a gulf island in British Columbia teaching yoga and meditation. Later he became a successful guru of the links between the environment, diet, and health.
The book is characteristic of its genre. Information from studies is presented in a selective fashion. For example, the author provides reference to the study that indicates that Okinawans have fewer than half as many hip fractures as North Americans. No mention is made that the study also reports an even lower incidence among the Japanese on the mainland (in Niigata). This leads to questions as to the putative contribution of the distinctive lifestyle in Okinawa. In addition, comparisons are consistently presented as the percentage rather that the absolute differences between groups (a favourite technique of the pharmaceutical industry). Thus, Okinawans are reported to have half the incidence of osteoporosis of North Americans. The facts provided in the reference (and not the book) are that the percent probabilities of hip fracture per woman are as follows: Japanese in Okinawa 10.6%, Japanese in Niigata 5.1%, and Caucasians in the United States 19.1%. For men the likelihood is 4.1% in Okinawa, 2.2% in Niigata, and 3.0% in Washington, DC. Stating incidences in percentage rather than in absolute differences is misleading.
The only reason to read the book is that your patients will read it.
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