LONGEVITY.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17609, 11 November 1922, Page 13

LONGEVITY.

HOW TO KEEP FIT. Under the auspices of the New Zealand branch of the British Bed Cross Society, a lecture on "Longevity, and How to Keep.Pit," was delivered by Dr. T. D. M. Stout at the Wellington Red Cross Chambers this week: "I am not going to do more," said Dr. Stout, "than point out the wondorful saving of life by the diminution of infant mortality, successful war. against tuborcle, the improvement lathe hygienic conditions of towns and houses, and the great work of preventive and curative medicine during the last This saving of life has been mostly in the youth of the community. There still remains a great deal of work.' to npt only prevent early death, but to 1 obtain more vigorous life throughout, with a prolongation of middle age to our present so-called Mosaic limit of throe score years and ten;, and to provide an. energetic and usefui old ago up to 100 years. To do this we must diligently search, for our present errors in life, and, having found them, ruthlessly correct th«m. The errors are ingrained in the customs and weaknesses of mankind, but we will fight them by man's intelligence and Strength. Our knowledge of life is rapidly increas-. ing; our interest in life is greater and our responsibility for the future of mankind is so much the greater. Is not the objective.of a healthier, haprjier, and longer life for all mankind not the greatest possible one, and is it not worth a little' sacrifice and selfdenial f There is' at present an astonishing disregard of the means of prolonging lifo on the part of the educated public, and even of the medical profession. '• • "First, I will investigate what I consider to bo the moat important factor—namely, our diet, and how it is dealt with in the body. Happily, our scientific knowledge of diet has progressed wonderfully in the last few years, and has rescued one or two from a hopeless muddle. There has been so much empiricism in the past, and so many questionable theories, that it is distinctly refreshing to have some accurate data to act upon." Dr. Stout thon dealt at some length with experiments made by competent observers in Denmark on dieting. He spoke of food deficiency, period of sleep required at different ages, excessive eating, etc., and pointed put that in this country we had an abundance of fine fresh food, and we had also a good climate. "There is no doubt that work," ho continued, "both physical and mental, is of great importance to the preservation of health. Mental work particularly seems to be required, and by continuing to employ all the faculties it seems possible for old men to continue to exerciso' them in a satisfactory manner up to their death. The old saying that it is better to wear out rather than rust out is true. If v men retire from business they must havo fresh interests to take its place, or else they will sink into a state of mental torpor and dotage. Closely connected with work is the question of exercise, the proper functional use of all, the muscles seems to be a necessity to preserve them in a healthy condition. A sedentary worker who does not take Tegular exercise is apt to get stout, and to get the degenerative changes in the heart and blood vessels and kidneys so much more rapidly. The exercises which seem to be peculiarly required are those of deep respiration and those of abdominal muscles. Also associated with the question of exercise is that of the breathing of fresh air. It has been borne in on us in the treatment of tuberculosis what an important thing fresh air is. "Now in regard to general health freßh air is no less essential, and its absence causes widespread effects on the whole body. The intake of oxygen and the elimination of waste substances by the expired air is probably the most important function of the bodVj as by this means the blood is refreshed and cleansed. Exercise in the open air especially combined with deep breathing will enable the maximum benefit to be obtained, and so a practice' of walking for a"- definite period each day should be followed by all middle-aged and elderly people who

do not get the necessary exercise by sports as they did in their youth. If they become septic foci they must be sacrificed for the good of the rest of the body. The nervous system is recognised by all of us as the king of the system, and so we can readily understand the necessity of a healthy condition of the mind. In old age this is specially necessary, as the effect of pessimism, of anxiety and worry on the aged is to rapidly cut short their days. Mental work is necessary, and occupation is essential. Self-control must be exercised and choerfulness promoted. Mental overstrain is much less frequent than mental laziness, and the examples of old men carrying on vigorous mental work to a great age is sufficient to show us that mental work is-as-rejuvenating as physical work. Tho.panacea for mental overwork, is change of mental work, not cessation, and that is the reason of the beneficial results obtained from the pursuit of hobbies. *' Having sot out the different aspects of life that tend to effect its longevity, I will just briefly set out the-essentials. These Sufficient exercise in the open air, and respiratory and • abdominal -exorcises particularly; (2) sufficient work continued to the end of one's days, and not* stopped in middle age; (3) a rather spare diet, containing the fresh foods, _ meat, fisli, eggs, butter, cheese, milk, fresh vegetables, and fruit. In old age the diet should bo ; particularly, a lacto-vegetarian one, with a minimum of flesh foods. The fresh foods will provide the essential vitamines which will keep in perfect order the end orrime glandular system, and so regulate the metabolism; (4) abolition of alcohol beverages; (5) the proper^elimination of waste products, especially by the bowels; (6) the elimination of septic foci in the body;, (7) the preserve-, tion of the brain by, continued mental exercise and training, and the cultivation of hobbies in order to give freshness to the mind, and recreation to the body; (9) the provision of good housing, .town planning and open-ai* spaces, the encouragement of games, and recreation of all kinds in the open air, the latter specially to counteract the baneful influence of indoor amusement in stuffy buildings. , "I make no apologies," said Dr. Stout, in conclusion, "for being an optimist in the future of mankind, and especially of the happy few situated in the healthiest country in the world, our own New Zealand. I wish you all a happy and healthy life to the age. of i 100." !