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["Marie McHarry" <mmcharry AT gmail.com>]

On 12/12/06, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com <Clansgian AT wmconnect.com> wrote:
> Similar to that, there are problably some people who just aren't going to get
> this or that disease no matter what.  Some who are going to get a disease no
> matter what they do.  And the third group, just like the third triage group,
> might get the disease but prevention is likely to avoid that.
>
> How big are those groups?

The answer to that question is important, obviously.From a public
health point of view, the only course of action is to encourage people
to eat their veggies, exercize regularly, and floss after meals. I
doubt that the size of the population that will be saved is as high as
99 percent. Based on a Bell curve distribution, it's probably more
like 75 or 80 percent, max.

I'm not arguing against healthful practices, which I follow to the the
best of my ability. I am saying that some people get awful diseases
through no discernible fault of their own. We simply can't ensure that
illness will not afflct us, and the older we get the more likely that
something will be out there to get us.

My mother is a prime example of having done everything right and still
getting hammered. Her plight doesn't dissuade me from trying to do the
right thing, but it is a reminder that no matter what we do old age
can still inflict its toll before it kills us.

Marie