Day 256 - 04 Jun 96 - Page 37


     
     1
     2   Q.   Very low.  Much, much lower than it would be in northern
     3        Europe or in ---
     4        A.  Yes.
     5
     6   Q.   -- America?
     7        A.  Right.  In most places, it is almost non-existent.
     8
     9   Q.   Alcohol is a substantial conveyor (if I may use that word)
    10        of calories, is it not?
    11        A.  Yes.
    12
    13   Q.   And it is a contributor, or may be a contributor, to body
    14        weight, may it not?
    15        A.  Yes.
    16
    17   Q.   Is it to be found in any of the papers how you explain, as
    18        it were, these differences, lifestyle differences, which
    19        are not diet-related, as between the Chinese people that
    20        you studied and people in northern Europe or in North
    21        America; can we find a paper that explains how you
    22        reconcile these lifestyle differences?
    23        A.  Yes, some of the papers do have that.  There were
    24        specific attempts made, for example, to compare non-dietary
    25        factors with dietary factors, to see how they all come out,
    26        if you will; and some papers have examined the influence of
    27        viral infectivity; others papers included tobacco use.
    28        Yes, we did, in fact, so far when we had the opportunity,
    29        include some of these non-dietary things.
    30
    31   Q.   I am just thinking, I notice in one of your writings --
    32        I forget which one of the three it is that I have -- you
    33        mention physical activity as being perhaps one of the
    34        causes why the Chinese people are less fat than we are; and
    35        at one point you suggest that may be because they rode
    36        bicycles to work?
    37        A.  Yes.
    38
    39   Q.   These may all be quite important factors, may they not?
    40        A.  Yes.  But there is a really interesting relationship
    41        between the local exercise, the physical activity thing.
    42        We were actually comparing in these studies Chinese office
    43        workers, who are the least physically active, with
    44        Westerners who are on average, whatever they are doing; and
    45        so the physical activity component is much less significant
    46        than you might otherwise imagine.  We are not comparing
    47        peasants working in the fields, for example.
    48
    49   Q.   I notice -- I am sorry to interrupt you, but I am helping,
    50        I think -- I notice that you produced a standardised 
    51        reference, male doing light work, office work? 
    52        A.  Right. 
    53
    54   Q.   But did you attribute to him travelling to work by cycle?
    55        A.  No, we did not; and that is certainly a good point; and
    56        I think that kind of exercise can contribute, yes.
    57
    58   Q.   Or, what do they call it, the calisthenics in the People's
    59        Park outside the office at six in the morning; did you take
    60        that into account?

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