The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1910-09-17
4. 70 LOSE OR MAKE WEIGHT.
rule Fat is a Sign Of Health,
says Dr.. White in Harvard
Medical Course.

m franklin W. Whlle, OF tAe f1al
MEDICAL School lectured on d
usr TOPIC in the Sunday afternoon
wss at the school, for he told fat
- how to lose weight and thin
p.orle how to put on flesh. Consequent
10 audience room was well fllled,
trom the number Of stout and lean
:. it was apparent that there was
s,eat personal interest in the dis
s.,-co In the course of his talk Dr..
White said:
arbe reason for the gain in weight
!, the vast majority Of healthy people
!. simply that they eat more than
!. needed for the daily work of the
soay Almost all stout persons can
..duce their weight and keep 1t down
! win. if they will take the trouble
. do so by finding out just what they
..ed for their daily work and then
tsening within these bounds. This
,rocess requires some care and pa
.,.nce and self-control, and in addition
sood deal Of knowledge Of the val
res of different foods. Stout people
s;re no one food and replace it by
another equally nutritious. They rely
8 exercise which brings with
4 even better appetite, and
they eat more. An addition
Al one pat of butter day will
rive an increase Of twelve pounds
weight in a year. The addition Of
Jingle slice of meat or Of Il slices
az bread day will do the same with
nod digestion and no increase of ex-
ercise.
AS rule fat is {. sign Of health and
not disease. Very few sick people gain
weight. 1t means good appetite and
GOOD digestion. 1t is safer to be ten
punds over weight than ten pounds
ader. There are two ways of reduc.
yAg surplus weight-eating less food
d taking more exercise. In my eX-
perience the method OF eating less is
far more effective and usually much
easier. The reasonable way is to
combine the two.
1T is not necessary for stout people
to 70 to sanatorium and take a cure
IN obesity 1t is much better and more
convenient to lose weight gradually.
The result can be accomplished not
necessarily by eating less of the foods
usually taken, but by making a new
choice, taking less of strong foods,
md more Of medium weaker ones.
While recommending moderate ex-
ercise, we must regard violent exercise
for the purpose Of reducing weight
IS wasteful of time and energy and
sometimes dangerous. Those who
lose weight by such a course of treat
ment, usually gain again rapidly az
ter they return to ordinary habits.
z Massage has little or no effect on
eight. Hot air or vapor baths reduce
weight only by drying out the body,
reducing the water by active perspir-
ation. Mineral waters and laxatives
are quite effective, for it is possible
to hurry the food so rapidly through
the digestive canal that much OF it
will not be absorbed, but this is
clumsy and inconvenient.
Thyroid extract, which has been
much used as a short cut to a grace
ful figure, is a powerful drug, which
has so many disadvantages that doc
tors are using it less and less. 1t fire.
queitly produces loss in the muscles
Or body framework. 1t is, too entirely
unnecessary, since no one loses weight
after taking it who could not lose with
Diet and exercise.
4 Patent medicines for the purpose
Are legion. Most of them are hank
Rfauds composed of the simplest and
cheapest stuff.
There is much less to say about
gaining weight 1t is far harder for
the slender person to gain weight than
Tor the stout person to lose it. and it
y frequently almost impossible to
cause permanent gain in weight.
Under weight may be due to wasteful
digestion, to eating too little or too
weak foods, or to using up too much
food supply in work or worry. All
hese causes must be treated; we need
more than increased food to cause in
crease Of weight. Boston Transcript.