The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-02-12
Style Conscious Women Control
Weight; Outlive The Men

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This is the fourth of a series
OF articles by DR.. Karl w. Ander-
son, vice president and medical
director of Northwestern Ma
tional Life Insurance Co., with
which he has been associated for
about 80 years. A graduate of
the University of Minnesota and
a 1924 Olympic hurdler, he is
also immediate past president of
the Minnesota Heart associa-
tom
Medical science has long sus-
pected that American women
suffer fewer ailments and physi-
cal impairments from being
overweight than do men.
Results of the massive 1859
Build and Blood Pressure Study"
released by the Society of Actu-
aries now confirm this.
But these results also reveal
what may be a contributing rea-
son: American women have on
the average been doing some
thing about their weight prob
lens. while their men-folk have
been letting the bulge in their
Waistlines go from bad to worse.
The results show up in a meas
urable difference in life expec-
fancy.
There are probably several
reasons why today's average
woman in her tWenties weighs
about five pounds less than her
mother did at the same age
and why women. of all ages
weigh several pounds less. Ger
talnly one such reason is the
Woman's changed position in our
society.
Thirty years ago countless
women Were still shaving over
washboards, beating rugs by
hand, doing manual chores on
farms. This unquestionably de-
manded and resulted in a more
muscular physique.
The woman of generation
ago had to have somewhat more
weight in order to fulfill her role
as helpmeet and homemaker in
a day before household automa-
ton.
To visualize this better, YOU
need only to look at today's Rus
sian woman, Vera Bacall, who
introduced American fashions at
the United States fair in Moscow
states in the current issue of
Look magazine that many Rus
sian women are envious of the
American woman's weight. "Oh.
to have a figure like that! Then
we could wear those clothes.
she reports.
But not many Russian women
are likely to achieve that objec-
tive so long as national policy
requires that they handle pick
and shovel or do other manual
labor.
Food Variety
Another r e son is tOday'S
wider variety of nutritious foods.
When Nikita Khrushchev was
in the United States he made it
a point to visit supermarket.
Within that supermarket, with its
unexcelled variety of nutritious
foods. lies part of the reason the
American woman is able to eat
a wen-balanced diet and still
maintain her figure. She has a
choice unavailable to women
anywhere else in the world.
Still a third reason is style.
1t is common knowledge that
women exceed men in total num-
bers in the United States. This
intensifies female competition"
for a man.
Whereas the Russian woman
excuses buxomness because "our
men want us that way" the
American woman aims to be
slim because she knows that
trim figure is more likely to
help her "get her man. In the
process she is giving herself a
dividend of longer life.
The wise woman. however,
will keep in mind these basic
facts: The man she marries will.
on the average, be ~ years
older than she is. But to begin
with she already has about a g.
year advantage over him in life
expectancy. Therefore she is in
effect five years younger than
her husband.
More Widows
This is one reason why the
country has nearly zoo, 900 more
widows each year. The number
is growing. Until quite recently
it was only 100000 more each