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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Required reading for over-50's, January 28, 2003
It's nice to hear from a doctor who doesn't chant the party line. Lipschitz is not afraid to criticize common medical mistreatments: unncessary heart surgery, overmedication, and overemphasis on weight. His discussion of alternative medicine, while a little too conservative for some readers, is more balanced than most.The most valuable part of the book is Lipschitz's portrayal of his elderly active patients who defy the stereotype. Yes, people over seventy can be active healthy and sexual. For my career coaching clients who say they're too old to go back to school, I plan to share the story of the man who completed a doctorate at seventy-five. I especially appreciated the discussion of weight and weight gain. So...being "a little bit chubby" can actually be healthy? About time we heard this view! And he questions the prevailing wisdom of light exercise. Work out and work hard, he says, and weight-lifting is the preferred exercise for the midlife-to-elderly set. Lipschitz also offers well-informed guidance about excessive or overzealous medicine -- topics doctors usually avoid. Under certain circumstances, he says, chemotherapy and other strong measures can make sense. But sometimes doctors are guilty of jumping in with painful measures to save a life that's already doomed. On the downside, Lipschitz encourages us to believe we can control our destiny, yet he glosses over the aspects of life that we cannot control. He deplores the six-minute office visit, yet most people will deal with time-stressed physicians in HMOs or worse. He encourages us not to be overconcerned with weight loss, yet he says those who gain weight in their midsection ("apples") are at greater risk than those who gain in their thighs ("pears"). We can't control where the weight lands and we need more discussion of these implications. Lipschitz devotes considerable space to discussing heart attack prevention, yet ignores other killers, such as diabetes, and other life-destroying conditions, such as hearing and sight impairment. Of course one book can't cover everything, but this book is relatively small for a hardcover (250 pages). A few chapters on other quality-of-life conditions would have been welcome. And I can't help noting a minor error on page 6 -- possibly a typo. The research, he says, is unambiguous. After age 70, weight and longevity are "inversely" correlated: the heavier you are after age 70, the longer you are likely to live. This correlation is positive, not inverse. Well, nearly every doctor has trouble with statistics -- although the subject is important for interpreting medical studies, as Lipschitz himself amply demonstrates throughout the book. Finally, Lipschitz's patents seem to have ample income and social support as they age. Going back to graduate school at age 70 calls for not only health, but also some financial reserves. Many of the elderly lack funds and many are estranged from family, with few close friends. Medical care is cold, impersonal and often wasteful under the best of conditions. Try seeking medical services when you're not accompanied by a six-foot, able-bodied son or a daughter who just happens to be an attorney! Lipschitz's examples seem to live in a well-cushioned vacuum, and that perhaps is what's missing in an otherwise strong contribution.
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