CRAZE FOR REDUCING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 5 January 1927, Page 5

CRAZE FOR REDUCING

WARNINGS ISSUED

• SAN FRANCISCO, 15th Nov. Day by day American women are worrying themselves into a state approaching collapse in efforts to reduce physically and warnings have been sounded by several noted Eastern American physicians to guard against the grave danger of the present-day craze throughout the country. Frantic endeavours of normal weight girls and women' to become "fashionably frail" or

"pathologically thin" almost overnight are seriously undermining the health of America's womanhood,. Dr. Charles F. Pabst, Brooklyn dermatologist, announced in New York-.

He has been attending specialist in skin ailments at the .Greenpoint Hospital iii Brooklyn for a lengthy period, and based his warning on cases coming before him at the clinics and his private practice.

He has been a pioneer hi spreading the warning to women, of the evil of hasty ill-advised weight reduction, using the columns of the press-to spread his public health information before the public. In the course of his statement he said : "A girl of to-day, who is of normal weight, is considered fat by her friends, and, rather than be normal and healthy, she adopts one of the many dangerous methods which arc supposed to reduce weight. Some of the misguided ones, acting •without the advice of a physician, begin by undereating and undersleeping. and over-exercising. '/Others take a drug, which is highly poisonous and oxidises the fatty tissues, not only on the, external parts of the body but also the heart muscle, and in other vital organs where a certain amount of fat is a necessity.

"I have had cases before me where young girls refused to sleep more than a few hours out of twenty-four because of their frantic endeavours to attain "boyish forms.' - '

"All of these ill-advised methods induce abnormal changes in the body, and the deluded victim succeeds in losing health and her youthful appearance. Her skin becomes dry and wrinkled, lier vitality lowered, and thus she is more susceptible to skin diseases, tuberculosis and other organic complaints. Lack of sleep shortens the life; fear that water makes for fat, forces these followers of the foolish flapper fads to drink less than the needed eight glasses daily. The result, is. disaster —often death. But it must end. The womanhood r>f the nation cannot afford to follow these, senseless follies much longer."