Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1908-01-09
CIR pl1ysiulugy
nf Tat Tnrmttt1
BY ANDREW WILSON,
Eminent English Scientist.

what may be called a social aspect, and one which brings 1t we'll within the
purview Of the man in the street, especially if he inchnes to the "too too
solid flesh" side Of things. Judging from the number Of announcements
relative to fat-educing methods and drugs which appear in journals, there
must exist a very large proportion of human beings who suffer from cor
pulence and. its effects One may well understand the comfort which an
oyerstout person experiences even in the hope that the swallowing of a
potion will reduce his proportions, though it is to be feared that drugs
alone, if medical opinion is 10 be trusted, cannot accomplish this desirable
end. Recent analyses by a medical journal of fatreducing nostrums, it
may be added, do not serve to strengthen a belief in their virtues.
| think we should draw a distinction in cases Of obesity between
weight Of body due to simple and natural growth without excess Of fat,
and that which is caused by fatovergrowth. There is, obviously, a very
plain distinction to be drawn between the two cases. A man may come
from a bgbolied stock, and his weight may exceed that of the average
mortal none the less, he may be a perfectly healthy individual, whose
build simply causes him to lean to the large size. The case of his neigh
Tor may be very different. We may find the second mar TO suffer from a
regular increase Of the fatty tissue a certain amount of which is to be
regarded as a natural constituent of our frame. The disadvantages of
obesity are numerous. We get, Of course, impaired vitality, and in
ability to discharge the duties of life. Then, there exists a danger of
fatty degeneration taking place in the muscles, especially in the heart
muscle, and in other organs Of the body. The lean and the spare, besides,
seem 10 resist dsease-attack better than DO fat persons; and, whilst the
happy medium here, as elsewhere, may be desired, we may assuredly hold
a brief for the lean man as against the stout-bodied individual in the
matter Of health.
The physiology Of fat is one Of the most interesting studies in life
science. if only because it involves very singular considerations, leading
us far aGcd into the ways Of living beings. One lesson We learn very
carly in the course Of our researches is that fat, as such, does not 90 to
the making Of fat in the body. Fat, a a great Psychologist once re-
marked. Is made from that which is not fat; and the materials which UNI
doubtclly constitute the chief fat-formhng foods are starches and sugars
Consider the case Of the COW feeding on grass, which contains little es
than starch, and not much Of that material at its best. Her milk Yields
a considerable quantity Of fat, which must represent transformed starch
Or think Of the bee making its wax-a form Of fat-from the sugar il
sips from the flowers. Corpulency, indeed, apart from a natural tend
ency 10 largeness Of frame, is mostly the result Of erroneous living
"The simple life" here really implies a selected lfe-sdeted, that is, il
the nature and quantities of the foods it consumes.