HEALTH AND WELFARE

Hokitika Guardian, 11 August 1921, Page 4

HEALTH AND WELFARE

SCIENCE OF KEEPING FIT,

ON THE USE OF CLOTHES

The general welfare of our people c depends very greatly on their health, i as individuals. If-we are looking for i industrial and business .efficiency, the j first Step is to pay attention to health. ; For this article we are indebted mainly , to the ! Medical Correspondent of the London Times. We would'be pleased to have the views of New Zealand Aledical men on the subject here raised a s we appreciate the fact' of having amongst us many - Doctors'"who desire to encourage widespread health teaching. CLOTHES AND THE A lAN. Fit men pay, as a rule, a great deal of attention to their clothes, and it therefore behoves those who would be fit !to follow so obvious a lead. The greati est"fault in the-clothing of most- people I fa its thickiness- The wrier is well j aware but few will agree with him. yet | be- holds strongly To the view that j linen is a healthic'r'type of underwear i than any woollen garment. The chief ' object of underwear, enit least, in warm weather, is not warmth but absorption. Ilf th'e. skin is to be kept active and ' freiii the moisture perspired from it must- be carried away,' and there must be free access of air to this important sense organ. IF we apply this idea to the woollen undervest' we realise why, after exertion, its wearers complain so often f feeling clammy. There is little or no absorption and the perspiration is therefore not carried away from the skin. Air. too, is prevented from entering hv the (logged pores of the woollen garment, and thus the skin remains hot and moist and airless. 'When finally cooling down does take lace,- th o unabsorbed moisture be-etoines intolerably uncomfortable. , CLOTHED IN KLXE LINEN. Compare this with, .the .lot of the man who wears lincp or cotton next hr skin. Re is surrounded by a highly absorbent material—as witness the use o' a “trig” of cotton or linen in mopping ii]i fluids. Tiny;, when he perspires the moisture is quickly removed from his I skin, which remains comparatively dry .Moreover, air rail circulate freely orchis skin, and so a measure oF coolness is! secured which maintains comfort and that sense of well-hring which *: never present unless the skin is active * This view of clothing is founded or the consideration that the skin is one the most important of all the organ: of the body. Its functions are enormously .wide. Thus, it serves t-o main tain the body temperature, to proto--the deeper organs, and-to transom » r kinds of sensations to the brain. It function as a- regulator of temperature f is carried on in virtue of two cireum- , stances, the amount of blood contained j in it at any given time, and the a,m- -- (Hint of evaporation carried on from itsurface. Both of these rircumslam <-■ can lie affected by clothing. If very heavy clothing is worn, more blood wT tend to enter the skin in order I increase the cooling effort, and there will bo more perspiration; if ii ,r clothing is worn, less blood and less evaporation will be necessary. Now il stands to reason that blood which b ’ exposed in tile skin cannot be employed in the brain and this, perhaps, explains the lassitude which is often experienced by the overclad on hot days. The bodies of these people an* so busy cooling themselves tnnt their brains have no energy for the work of thinking. Moreover, though there is plenty of perspiration there is no air • to cause evaporation. 1 j FEEL TNG A DRAUGHT. 1 Worse still, this constant straining ■ I of the mechanism of the skin, whereby ‘ ! temperature is regulated, soon causes j the meclianism to go out of work- ■ | ing order. .Men accustomed to ovoreloUie themselves soon become delicate and the slaves of their over-sensitive i son -ations. They feel “draughts” every where; and suffer readily from either lnnt or cold, the end of this process is disease. The victim of his own carefujliiessi loses Nature’s protection I against change of temperature and so tends to “chill” where other men would experience only a bracing effect. His resistance to infection is thus lowered, i and he falls a prey to sickness, which he should be able to defy. The miudlcaged business man who desires to keep lit should ponder this question carefully. He w ill lie wise if lie uses cotton or linen underwear and changes it daily. In winter, a light woollen shift can be worn above this. It will heroine a much more hygonic garment from the fact that it is no longer expected to absorb moisture, but only to give warmth. That, is to say, it will not be clogged and heavy. Moreover, it is a well known fact that two light garments are warmer than one heavy garments arc warmer than one, heavy oik*, owing to the fnot that a layer of “still” or “contained” air is held imprisoned between them and retains bodily warmth. In summer, the .woollen garment can be left off and the linen or cotton one alone worn. (Contributed by the N.Z Welfare . League.)