The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-15
AMERICAN LIVES
 TOO SWIFT FOR GOOD OF OWNERS
Insurance Expert Says Hun dred Thousand Are Re
 jected Annually.

New York, Dec. 15.-Estimating that 100000; Americans are annually rejected out of total of 1,30O,000 examined for life insurance. E. E. Rittenhouse Of the Equitable Life As- surance society urged the need for Improving the physical preparedness of the people of the United States. = The composite physical American looks smooth, pink and healthy" said MT. Ritterhouse. ''He is a good liver CT said is, not has). He hur- ries. He has no time to waste. The average age at death of the Ameri- can people Is about 40, the medium age, 43. He is trying, with the aid of new knowledge and inventions, to crowd the experiences. of two life times into one. He is having some success but the strain is telling on him.
 His digestive organs have been given so many :. new and arduous. duties to which they were not train-i ed that they are showing signs of re-; bellion. He Is seriously overstrain- ing his heart, arteries, kidneys, nerves and digestion as their rapidly increasing death rate shows. He could detect and head off these troubles if he would go to his doctor for an occasional examination. He is more than we1l-rounded at the belt and slightly so at the shoulders. rUn- der exertton he is short-winded,' due { fo lack of exercise or a bad heart. &YX 400 muscles are virtually all soft IetD weak from lack of use. He is f)fe8kned as an erect, outdoor animal with feet and legs for service. but hA lies down by night. and sits down : Ry. day. He never walks when he can
 14e- He scurries around at his Work, gets tired and nerve-worn and thinks this is phsycical exercise, Whereas his muscles and joints have been virtually idle. And yet he looks smooth, pink and healthy, for the most of these signs of deterioration arc not outwardly visible.
 sB s'tyhe evil effects Of his physical in- activity have been greatly aggravated by his deadly excesses and errors in eating and drinking. There is no burden too great for him to put upon his digestive system. He would not think of mixing bricks or scrap iron { or gravel with the fuel for the fur mace which heats his house, but he < does not hesitate to follow this plan
  He feeds his stomach with all sorts of tasty junk, much of which cam not be fully digested. and which re- suits in the trouble that comes from { auto Auto-intoHcation has "a fascination for him. He seems to think 1t is some automatic way of getting pleasure. Slowly the fact is .sinkfng in that his accumulation of fat is due to the excessive use of meats, sugar, butter, sweets, cream and other rich. fat and oily foods minus exercise. With every pound he sgairs Of excess fat. his chances5 forT a & hcrtsned life Increase. HeI tshorf1d note the insurance records ,whtah show that with. those, above age 40, having 15ssto 80 pounds over- weight the excess death rate ranges from nine per cent. to g5 per cent. above, the average of all policy hold srs combined.
 with these statistical and other Facts before us. it seems reasonable spIe to resist fatigue and the. physical stress of modern civilization is de- cliping raxher than. advancing. It isl probably true that when our ances- tors left the trees for the caves, if they did. they had a high mortality lexpefience until adjusted to their new living conditions. It may ude- velop that the same will be true of Oiar change from physical active lives, chiefly outdoors, to physically inac-1 tive lives in the caves and pigeon holes of our modern dwelling places. But wholly aside from the question of declining national vitality, surely there can be no doubt as to the ur- gent need of improving the physical preparedness of our people for the protection of the state and of pos-I feyitv