ODDS ON YOUR LIFE: How to Make Informed Decisions About the Health Factors You Control

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 20, 1980

A gaming man's approach to healthier living: the logic is unassailable, the basic information the same old thing. The author (in ambulatory care at Columbia Presbyterian) is convinced that if we know all the rules and the odds we can make responsible decisions about our own health. So, after explaining the basics of calculated risk and prospective thinking, Roglieri provides the needed health background and produces his contribution to the life-extension program; LIFE, i.e., Lifestyle Investment Formula Evaluator. There is extended discussion of game theory and decision-making--after which Roglieri covers major factors in health determination from genetics to eating, drinking, and stress. In each case, individuals must take responsibility for themselves; by examining tables showing probability of death in the next ten years, readers can pick out what they want to work on and then read more about it. Overeating and smoking are the most important factors, but younger age groups should be wary of autos: slow down, wear seat belts, and minimize driving--any kind of public transportation is safer than driving your own car. Risk charts abound, generally easy to interpret, some Roglieri's own estimates. The actual health information is reliable, although in a few cases out of date (Roglieri reports cigarette smoking as being technically a habit, rather than an addiction.) At the end we are introduced to LIFE, which draws all of this together so readers can calculate their own degree of motivation and the ""investment"" and ""costs"" of changing poor health habits. A new gimmick well-presented, but without much new information.

Pub Date: Oct. 20, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Seaview--dist. by Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION