THE AMERICANS.

Clutha Leader, Volume XLIII, Issue 92, 1 June 1917, Page 8

THE AMERICANS.

INOIPTMENT OF UNFITNESS. tOO M UCfli FOOD AND TOO RICH. ■ From an article in 'The American Review of Reviews' for January, we learn that experts employed by American insurance companies have~ made careful studies of the average American oh the physical, side in his relation to prbblemsx'of life insurance. At a recent' convention of life-insurance presidents' in New York City, one of the speakers, i Mr E: E, .Rittenhouse, brought out certain facts tending to show that the, physical endurance of the American people is seriously declining. j While a marvellous increase has "oc-; curred in wealth, in time-saving and iavor-saving devices, which have radically changed the living habits of a large number of people, physical vigor has materially declined. At the same time the per capita intake of food has' increased, and much of this food is over- j rich and injurious. The individual i American as describel by Mr Rittenhouse is. "easily • winded, weak, and flabby-muscled, with joints stiffened by disuse; he is lacking in both agility an dendurance." It appears that the mortality rate from wear and tear of life is gaining abnormally. The lowpower or sub-standard group of the American population, as Mr Rittenhouse terms it, is apparently, increasing: These are some of the items that Mr Rittenhouse set forth in his attempt to visualise the physical, American as he walks the streets of American 20th-century cities:— He is amazingly prosperous. • In two generations his wealth has increased 540 per cent. He looks smooth, pink, and healthy. He is a good liver. He hurries, fie has no time to waste. The age at death of the American people is about 43. His hair is aged and he is getting bald. Nature asks why hirsuto protection is needed indoors. His eyes have been strained by closefocus, and inside work, hence the eyeglasses. His teeth put up a good front, but they need attention. His "digestive organs have been given too many new and arduous duties. Under exertion he is short-winded, due to lack of exercise or a bad heart.. He is designed as an erect outdoor animal, with feet and legs for service, but he not only lies down by .night, but he sits down by day. His 400 muscles are virtually all soft and weak from lack of use. Ho never walks when he can ride. lie would not think nf mixing bricks i or scrap iron or gravel with the fuel ! -»or the" furnace, but he does not hosiI tate to follow this clan in furnishing fuel for his body. He seems to think | "auto-intoxication" is some automatic ; way of getting pleasure. He should | note the insurance records, which show I that, with - those above 40 years old, having 15 to 80 pounds over-weight, the | excess death rate ranges from 9 to 75 I per cent, above the average.