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Roseto Effect

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I was just reading about a phenomenon called the Roseto effect. Apparently, the Pennsylvania town of Roseto (named after the Italian town) had a remarkably low rate of death from heart disease in the mid part of the 20th century. It turned out they ate worse, smoked more than other communities but lived long and healthy lives. The causative factor was discovered by the researchers (led by an MD named Stewart Wolf) to be a function of the social nature of the town 's people -- they were remarkably interactive and connected.

This effect went away as the immigrant town "Americanized" and became regular in its values and behaviors.

This was described in the 1960's. Why can't this be created again? Community is "buildable" even without it being the natural state of being. That is my opinion. It just has to be valued by the community and it happens. Build it and they will come.

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