SUSAN CLOKE
Columnist, Santa Monica Mirror
Columnist, Santa Monica Mirror
You may have seen Dr. Breslow, a man in his
90’s, taking his regular walk on the Boardwalk in Santa Monica. Lester Breslow, a physician who
pioneered the field of public health, was following his own advice for a long
life.
“Do
not smoke. Drink in moderation. Sleep seven to eight hours. Exercise at least moderately. Eat regular meals. Maintain a moderate weight. Eat breakfast.”
These rules, Dr. Breslow’s “7 Healthy Habits”
became the foundation for many government programs designed to promote good health
and longevity. What may seem
common knowledge to us now is, in large part, common knowledge because of Dr.
Breslow’s work.
The
“7 Healthy Habits” for longevity were based on data from the Alameda County
Study. The demographics of Alameda
County were reflective of national demographics and that made it a good site
for the study.
In
1965 almost 7000 residents of Alameda County CA were randomly selected and
asked to participate in a survey regarding their health habits. Did they smoke? How much did they drink? How much exercise did they get? What did they eat? When did they eat? How much did they sleep?
The first survey was used to create a
baseline. Follow up surveys, coded
for anonymity, collected data over a 20 year period and were used to correlate
health habits with disease incidence and longevity.
The methodology used in the study provided a
mathematical proof that life style, good health and longevity are linked. His work expanded the definition of
public health and explored the inter-relationship of the community, the
environment and the individual.
Dr. Breslow had intended to practice psychiatry
but he was having doubts about his choice and his mentor at the University of
Minnesota, Dr. Alex Blumstein, who became a life long friend, encouraged him to
go into the field of public health.
Born in Bismarck, North Dakota in 1915, he was
the oldest of four children, his father a pharmacist, his mother a
schoolteacher.
The family moved to the Twin Cities in Minnesota
in 1927. The first in his family
to go to college, Lester Breslow received four degrees from the University of
Minnesota. His undergraduate
degree in science, his medical degree, his master’s degree in public health and
then, much later in life, an honorary degree for his contributions to the field
of medicine.
World War II interrupted his career, as it did
to everyone who lived through those times. From 1943 to 1945 he served as a Captain under General
MacArthur. With his training in
epidemiology he worked as a physician and also developed preventative medicine
programs to protect troops in the tropics from getting malaria and Dengue
fever. He was also
responsible for the clearing of returning troops for communicable diseases when
they returned to port in San Francisco.
Dr. Breslow was discharged in 1945 and reunited
with his first wife and three children.
He wanted to continue his work in the field of public health and talked
to the CA State Health Department about his ideas for the prevention of chronic
diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
At first, the CA State Health Department sent
him to the San Joaquin Valley to study equine encephalitis and to keep it
contained. Dr. Breslow continued to work for the CA State Health Department for 22 years, rose
through the ranks and soon became the Head of the Bureau of Chronic Diseases.
In the post war period the CA State Health
Department created the CA Tumor Registry was established to track disease
incidence, treatment and survival and that was how the rising trend in the incidence
of lung cancer in American women was seen.
In 1965 Governor Pat Brown appointed Dr. Breslow
to the position of Director of the CA State Health Department. But the Director is an appointed
position and when Governor Brown was no longer governor, Dr. Breslow became a
professor at the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. It was 1968. By 1972 he became Dean of
the School, a position he held until his retirement at age 65.
His idea of retirement was an active one. He kept on working because it made him
happy to do so, doing research, mentoring students and giving lectures and
talks.
He loved to be on the go and loved the theater
and to discover new restaurants.
He also tended his garden and walked every day. He followed his own rules – no smoking,
ate breakfast, sleep 7-8 hours per night, no snacking, weight to height
balance, alcohol in moderation and exercise.
Dr. Breslow received great recognition in his lifetime,
he was the advisor to Presidents, the recipient of prestigious medical awards including
the Lienhard Award from the Institute of Medicine, the Sedgwick Medal from the
American Public Health Association and the University Service Medal. He died in April of 2012, at the age
of 97. His long life is a
testament to his work and we are his beneficiaries.
My thanks to Devra Breslow. She is a talented, professional woman
in her own right and Lester’s wife of 44 years. Without her help this column could not have been written.
