Putnam County herald. (Cookeville, Tenn.) 1903-1922, 1913-05-29
SchOOlroOm and Personal
Hygiene
By Roscoe PrOfitt


most important of the many
important subjects of the pres
ent day, it is perhaps one of the
most neglected. God, in the
. creation of man endowed him
with a mind and body far SUI
perior to the lower animals in
J intelligence, ingenuity and use
fulness. 1t is our duty to God,
ourselves and our country, to
cultivate our minds, care for
and protect our bodies, in the
wisest and best way possible,
to the end that we may. possess
and enjoy the greatest possible
measure of bodily health,
strength and usefulness. Some
of us are very strong and ro-
bust and see INTO be equal to
any amount of work, and to suf-
fer little from carelessness or
unfavOrable sur r o u n n e S.
While this seems to be the case,
they are in reality injured very
much by these things and any,
one treating himself il this
careless manner can never hope
to equal the success of the per-
son who gives himself a rea-
sonable amomunt of intelligent
attention.
But for a person to be able to
give his body he proper kind of
nourishment and attention, as
well as to develop and care for
his mental powers, there are
certain fundamental laws of hy-
giene and sanitation that he
must observe.
Among the the requisites of
personal hygiene is that of
muscular activity or exercise.
By this is meant the systematic
exercise of all parts of the body
in the open air. The object of
systematic exercise is to devel-
Op and maintain a sound and
symmetrical organism. By
symmetrical is meant the de-
veloping of all parts of the
body in the proper proportion.
The blacksmith, the shoemak-
er, the boxer and the dancer, all
have splendid development in
that part of their body that is
called into use by the particular
work in which they are engag-
ed. But while these parts are
being developed and strength
ened, certain other parts, due
to the lack of muscular activity,
are wasting away and lag be-
hind in growth andd vigor. The
effect of exercise is to hurry the
action of the lungs and increase
the blood flow. More all is
breathed, and consequently,
more carbonic acid is throrwn
off. The action of the heart in
creases and more blood is fore
ed through all parts of the body.
AS the increase of carbon eX-
created demands an increase of
carbon to be given in the form
of food, the appetite is greatly
increased. On the contrary, in
sufficient exercise causes the
muscles to become smaller and
softer and less energetic in
their cOntractiOns. The con-
tinual use of the muscles may
even result in the sarcotic ele-
ments being converted into fat.
Basket ball, football, running,
polo, baseball and cycling are
all excellent forms of exercise,
when not engaged in too siren
uously.
Thus you see if we would
have a sound, uniformly devel-
oped and we'll consolidated Or
ganism, such as modern life de-
mands, it is necessary that we
should give considerable atten-
tion to this important branch
of personal hygiene.
Food also is a very important
consideration in the caring for
and protection of the body. The
human body is constantly los
ing energy and wearink away
in the performance of muscular
activity. Food restores the en-
ergy, repairs the body and pro-
duces heat. The three import
ant elements of food are pro-
teid, fat and starch. But as the
quality and quantity of food for
a person depends upon the
health, the occupation and the
muscular activity of the person,
it is very important that we
c,h in