HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Volume 11, Issue 2159, 11 July 1895, Page 49

HEALTH COLUMN.

Do We Starve Our Children?

In an American paper there appeared a little time ago a comparison betwetnt.ha way children were fed in England and the United State?. From that it certainly appears that, give the average schoolboy his choice, and he would not, like the patriotic sailor of Mr Gilbert's vision, elect to remain an Englishman. The American cbild breakfasts off rich and bighly-spiced diahes.^ias stewed oysters and ice-cream ad libitum for lunch, and enjoys a dinner that is like a Christmas dream every day. The writer declares that' there is not a moment in the life of an English ohild.when he is not hungry, that he will not complain at being disturbed in his first eleep if the awakening is compensated by bread and jam; that never, through all the eager years of growth, does he know the sensation of satisfied appetite. Perhaps this is an over-statement, bat certainly, from the transatlantic point of view, the British routine of bread and : milk or oatmeal porridge, roast, mutton and rice pudding, probably ieems little short of starvation. But what is the result 1 Tbe Englishman has at least a fair hygienic start in life ; with his most conscientious efforts in self-indulgence he does not greatly suffer from indigestion before, he-is .40, while the average American is a dyspeptic from his youth up. Climate may to some extent be responsible for this, the strain and stress of life in a country where it is tbe bonnden duty of every citizen to become a millionaire or perish in tbe attempt is hi some degree to blame,' but who can doubt that this early over-feeding is at the root of all. Not that we recommend tbe starvation of children ; on the 'contrary, fro think that some parents are a little too

anzious to guard against the dangers ot repletion, and that some well-meant books err in fixing the exact number of ounces a child should eat at a given age. The average child has a much more accurate indicator within himself, and while the food set before him is plain and wholesome, not of a nature to artificially excite the appetite, the internal test may safely be trusted. It is only when the taste for bread and butter vanishes while the taste for cake remains in full force that Interference is necessary, and to keep a child sound and strong abundance of exercise is better than scarcity of food. Here our American cousins misjudge us. We do not, as they fancy, starve our children, but we insist on their working off their food by physical activity. On the food question we look beyond the palate. Breakfast and dinner are not mere gratifications, they are potential bone and musclo, and let the pampered American tantalise us as he will with terrapin and ice-cream and candy, we will continue to restrict our children's diet to the things which make bone and muscle of the best.— The Hospital.

A Oattsb and Cube of Omrsixr. — Dr Alexander Duke has discovered that fat people suffer considerably from thirst, and are very prone to unduly satisfy it. The experience,, coupled with the fact that a large proportion of the body consists of fluidj led him. to advise restriction of fluids in cases of obesity, and that those allowed be as dinretio as possible. His contention is that fluids of all kinds fatten or bloat the body when used in excess. He prohibits cold drinks of all kinds, a hot one assuaging the thirst much better. By the exhibition of saline purgatives in hot water taken each morning (fasting), diuretics, and diaphoretics, he finds he can promise a stout patient with healthy organs a considerable reduction of body weight, and in a short time.

Diet fob Consumptives.— Phthisical patients are notoriously capricious about their food, and special indulgence is shown them in this respect. Fish, chop, or chicken are in turn substituted for meat, and bacon is given for breakfast if desired, with extra quantities ot milk, beef tea, and eggs. In the absence of dyspepsia J.he more fatty food the patient oan take the better. Milk, lemonade, or beef tea are ordered for night consumption, and in many cases a glass of milk, with or without a little rum, is given on waking in the early morning. Alcohol is not given as a routine.'practice, but ale or stoat, half a pint, is generally allowed with dinner. The bett guide for giving stimulants is the patient's appetite, an if it is increased thereby they may be given safely. Of coarse if there is much weakness or prostration wine, whisky, or brandy are given freely; Speaking generally, alcohol is contraindicated in early acute, useful in chronic and advanced stages. — The Hospital.