The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1934-01-25
THE PATHOLOGY OF OBESITY

The tradition that fat folk are
jolly. good natured, always laughing
and looking on the cheerful side, grew
up in q day when fat folk didn't care
or didn't know how young they were
doomed to die!
Prior to IS moderate overweight,
that is. not more than 10 per cent,
in excess Of the standard for age and
height, is favorable to longevity and
therefore approved by life insurance
companies. Such plumpness in youth
is fairly good sign, if not actual
assurance that the individual has no
tuberculosis. Such a youth is well
nourished, carefree. as comely as may
be. so why shouldn't he or she be
jolly? After IS, however, excess
weight is rather an unfavorable con-
dition: conduceS to shorten life COM
pels the individual to slow down;
makes one look and act prematurely
old: favors development of diabetes.
These are only general observa-
tons. It is not to be assumed that
q plump or fat young person is i'm
mune from pulmonary tuberculosis.
Nor is the portly party Of middle age
to be pronounced quite dead just be-
cause he has commenced to swell. So
long as a fat person can hold his
breath 80 seconds or longer there IS
hope.
Many women, and some men, who
take on excess weight after 80, be-
come unnaturally droWsy, that is. I'M
like their former selves In that re-
spect. lazy or disinclined to work or
play as much as formerly, short OF
pep, and become unduly sensitive to
cold, that is, wanting more clothing
or more heat than normal persons
around them or more than they
themselves required before they went
stale, and who actually have body
temperature that IS below the nor
NAL Of healthy persons, are suffer-
ing from one type Of glandular obes-
| ity-hypothyroidisnn. Women with
hypothyroid obesity usually complain
of scanty, irregular or absent MEMS
truai function. They have low blood
pressure and are anemic, stupid, sad.
No dieting or exercise or other RENE
dial measures can accomplish any
lasting benefits in these hypothroid-
ism cases without the proper CLAN
dular therapy, and the family ply
stefan or a good general practitioner
mot q specialist) IS the one VINO
knows how to administer such treat
ment to achieve the most satlsfac-
tory results and yet not harm the
general health.
OF all the fools none Is more SO
than the one who monkeys with duct
less gland medication Of any sort on
his own responsibility or the assur-
ance Of some quack or nostrum mon
ger. There are many so-called harm
less reducing treatments on the mar
ket which contain thyroid extract
You pay your money and take your
poison il you're big enough fool.
There are many other symptoms o.
signs Of functional insufficiency q
the thyroid gland In these cases o.
hypothyroid obesity. but I've SAID
enough to warn the layman against
meddling with machinery he cannot
hope to understand. When it Gomez
to our most precious possession
health. We are indeed . nation o.
gamblers. That Is why the thousant
and one marvellous quack obesity
cures or reduction treatments sell =
we'll.
& OF course there Is . reason why tn
thyroid function slows down IN thes
cases Of hypothyroid obesity, bu
that's story I've told many time
before and shall tell many time
again.