[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by Mudder

Again I ask, have you been to Okinawa to actually see for yourself? Are the people there as mentally healthy and happy as we here in The Vilages are. In today's world a study done ten years ago is already outdated. All the studies are good and moslty valid, but until you see the reality of it all, it's just facts and figures on a page.

No, I have not been to Okinawa to see for myself. When we are compared with a group somewhere in the U.S., will you go there to see for yourself? What will you see? Will you go door to door asking people if they took part in the survey? Will you demand to know how long ago the survey was done? Will you tell Dr. Peterson that it's no good unless it's a fresh survey?

If you are really interested in learning about it, I would suggest reading the book. It was based on a 25 year study and I think there is an updated version. It may still be ongoing for all I know. I'm in a "NIH AARP Diet And Health Study" and it's been ongoing since 1995. It started with 500,000 of us and will keep going as long as we are still living.

There are other good long term studies that are more recent and we could be compared to them as well. One is The China Study which went on for over 20 years. I haven't been there either. I believe it was funded by the NIH.

The problem with comparing studies in the U.S. is that there are no significant differences between one city and another or one small town and another. We have all moved around so much that we are culturally homogeneous. We all watch the same TV programs, see the same movies, eat the same foods at home, go to the same chain restaurants etc.. If it's a retirement community, they will have club houses, golf, tennis, baseball etc..

What if we are slightly better in one way but slightly worse in another? What if we are slightly better in every way or slightly worse in every way? What will we make of it? If they are slightly worse, will we think it's because they're not having enough fun? If we are slightly worse, will we think it's because we have poorer eating habits or because we don't exercise enough? When people record what they eat, for example, it's all based on their best recollection. So if there's not much difference between one town and another, I think it will be difficult to make much out of it. That's my opinion.

P.S. Yes, it would be outdated in some respects but what I had in mind would require that they (Okinawans) take the exact same survey that we took.

[Pathel]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

I think it's weird that they didn't inform us of the different versions. Maybe they thought no one would notice? Mine had 58 numbered questions and two extra (essay type) questions. I think I will just call the office on Monday and ask about it. But I have lost my enthusiasm for survey and will very likely not send mine in. I say, "screw it!" After all the agravation, I don't care about it anymore. If they don't want to bother asking me about my eating habits, I won't bother sending it in.

Well, in light of what you just posted, I think I know what your answers would have been to those questions which you were obviously upset about:

Per VillagesPL: "However, there were plenty of questions about your state of mind, such as: "felt downhearted and blue?" "felt so down in the dumps nobody could cheer you up?" "felt calm and peaceful?" "been a happy person?" "been nervous?"

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by Pathel

Well, in light of what you just posted, I think I know what your answers would have been to those questions which you were obviously upset about:

Per VillagesPL: "However, there were plenty of questions about your state of mind, such as: "felt downhearted and blue?" "felt so down in the dumps nobody could cheer you up?" "felt calm and peaceful?" "been a happy person?" "been nervous?"

No, Pathel, I wasn't upset about the above questions. I was just trying to illustrate the following: If they could take the time to ask those questions, why wouldn't they also take the time to ask more in depth questions about the food we eat? That's all. It takes a lot more than that to make me angry or upset.

I will admit to being disappointed for a short period of time. But that's about it. 99% of the time, I'm a calm, peaceful, happy person. And, did you notice, after I said, "screw it!," I inserted a smiley face. How upset could I have been?