Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-12-02
DANGERS OF CORPuLRNCE
How to Guard Against Them and Reduce
Obesity.

How to Guard Against Them and Reduce
Obesity.
St Louis Globe Democrat.
Intemperance in diet, INDULGENCE
in the excessive use Of alcoholic
drinks, too little bodily exercise
in the open air-these are the
more important of the causes which
bring on corpuleuce. The modes in which
these causes act to bring about an excess
sive deposit of fat have been sufficiently
indicated in the Introductory portion of
this paper. As. muscular exercise in
creases the production of flesh, inaction
leads to an excessive deposit of fat.
Alcohol acts In a manner precisely SINH
lar to that of fats, sugars, and starches
1t interferes with the destruction or COM
bustion of the fat-producing materials,
prevents them from undergoing combus-
ton, as II is more easily destroyed by
oxygen than they are. Certain diseases,
such as offers any interference with the for
nation or development of the red blood
corpuscles, the oxygen carriers, increase
the disposition to the deposit of fat. The
oxygen may enter the lungs, but without
these carriers it is unable to reach the
tissue where combustion ordinarily takes
place.
The dangers of corpulence are many
fold. All diseases accompanied by high
fever are apt to follow an unusually malig-
naht course In fat persons. The heat that
developes in these affections cannot be
so readily lost by radiation or conduction
as in the lean. The cold bath, the cold
pack, and all sorts of cooling measures
fail to readily reduce the temperature
and the fever is, in itself, a serious source
of danger. The skin is constantly bathed
in perspiration on slight exertion or
when the external temperature rises.
Hence skin diseases are common and
often intensely annoying among the
corpulent. The breathing is interfered
with by the accumulated fat, so breath
lesness on exertion is common among
them. The frequency of perspirat1ons
leaves the surface exposed to chilling
Influences which cause coughs, colds,
bronchitis, and pneumonia. The over
loading of the heart with fat interferes
with its action, SO that palpitations and
sudden faintness from partial failure of
this organ to do its duty are not infre-
quent. The extra weight that has to be
carried entails muscular exhaustion on
exertiOn such as is not felt by the thin
person. The discomforts and dangers
of obesity would fill a much larger cata-
log, but it is not necessary to enumerate
them all here.
The treatment of corpulence must vary
with the cause. No rigid rules can be
framed that will serve in all cases. If
there is strong hereditary tendency to it,
a radical cure cannot be expected only
an improvement can be promised, and
even this cannot always be secured. The
prevention of it should be undertaken
when young person shows a strong
tendency to put on an excessive amount
Of adipose tissue. One of the first things
to be done in this direction is to regulate
the diet. Immoderate indulgence at table
must be rigidly forbidden, yet the food
must be in sufficient amount to secure
all that the body requires for its needs.
No starvation should be countenanced.
Fatal weakness of the heart or permanent
disorder of the digestion often results
from irrational restrictions of diet. The
temporary thinning is usually followed by
marked increase IN the corpulence be-
yond what existed before the Tanner
plan" was adopted. A much better plan
is to avoid exciting the appetite by a
great variety of food. Prince Bismark's
physician succeeded in curing his patient
by the very simple plan of making the
meal consist of only one kind of food, of
which he should eat as much as he pleased,
and no drink of any kind to be taken at
meals or until two hours afterward. By
this means no unnatural appetite was en-
couraged, and inc patient ate only what
the necessities of the system really de-
mauded. The diet should contain an
abundance of albumen, little fat and still
less starch or sugar, when an earnest
effort is being made to reduce corpulence
Or provide against its making its appear
ance. Some fats have to be taken, or the
albuminous foods will not be digested Or
appropriated by the system. If signs of
disordered digestion appear, the diet must
be modified from time to time by the ad
dition of articles which are usually for
hidden. It is better to incur some of the
prospective discomforts or even dangers
of obesity than to ruin the digestion in the
attempt to avoid them.