HEALTH COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 77

HEALTH COLUMN.

Obesity. In the extreme forms this is a disease and if allowed to continue without treatment it will probably shorten life by leading to fatty degeneration of the heart, atheroma of the arteries, and apoplexy. It is sometimes the outcome of errors in diet, but most often occurs in people who are predisposed to it by heredity. A characteristic temperament is often associated with it, in which there is a tendency to take things easily, and an apparent immunity from all worry or anxiety. It is a fact that worry is the mpst powerful agent tor reducing weign. at the same time it cannot be' recommended as a form of treatment to those who suffer from obesity, and who wish to get rid of some of the superfluous flesh. Rather should they formulate a scheme of exercise, massage, and diet. Early rising is an essential feature, and seven hours iff bed should be the limit. Exercise is of the first importance, and open-air walking should be take# daily, at least four miles at a br is k- pace if possible. Other forms of exercise should not be neglected; light dumbbells used morning and evening, skipping, a smart game of battledore and shuttlecock can be indulged in with great advantage, and even if these are out of the question benefit will be derived from a few exercises on the Swedish principle immediately after the morn ing bath. Massage comes next in value though it is not to be looked on as a substitute for exercise. It i 6 possible to apply it to oneself, but it is far more useful and effective when applied by another.' It consists in rubbing the body with the hands as practised in the Turkish baths; the pressure should, be firm but not rough, and the muscles of the abdomen should be well kneaded. The diet ia a very important consideration, an» must be carefully regulated where thesis a tendence to corpulence. To begin with, the less fluid taken with meals the better; a small cup of tea is sufficient, and at dinner the liquid taken }hould be limted to half a tumbler. To drink a tumbler of hot water at bed time and on awaking is, however, very beneficial, atf it washes out the alimentary system and clears the blood of, impurities. To the morning draught a teaspoomful of Carlsbad salts or sulphate of soda should be added, as this will help to counteract the tendency to obesity, but each one must determine the amount of the salt by the laxative effect it produces. Malt liquors and cocoa must be given up; weak tea, with very little cream and sugar, may be taken* and at dinner either pure water or soda water. Eat sparingly of sugar and white bread, potatoes, rice, arrowroot, arid sago. Toasted bread or rusks should be amays used in place of ordinary bread, green vegetables and fruit may be plentifully taken, and most kinds of meat and fish are allowable. Pork and bacon, salmon and pastry, aiust be rigidly eschewed, but on the whole, unless in very bad cases, the person trying 4 to combat obesity is not obliged to deprive himself of a great deal. Where it is necessary to avoid excess of fattening foods, of course a stricter regimen must be followed, and, above all, the patient should restrict himself to the use of gluten bread. This ia made of flour from which the starch has been extracted, leaving the gluten or nitrogenous matter only to be eaten. If dough be kneaded under a tap from which water is running the starch will be washed out, and the gluten dough will remain, but the process cannot • successfully be carried out by amateurs, and it is best to get gluten bread from a baker who specialises in starch-free foods.- As a last word of warning, never take medicines advertised to reduce obesity, for the consequences may be such as seriously to impair the health.

The Care of the Eyes.

The effort which our eyes are called upon to make in accommodating l them l selves to the objects near at hand requires the action of several muscles. When this effort is long continued these muscles become wearied like any others, and should they not be allowed proper, opportunity for rest they become seriously diseased. This fact it is which makes it necessary to give children frequent inter/vals of either recseation or eye-rest during school hours. The lesson which calls for close watching or anything like books, figures, the making or handling of small obiects common in kindergarten work, should be followed bv a memory lesson or one which only requires the class to look at the teacher and a distant blackboard.

If the eyes easily become tired, and if the vision be blurred, or the eye-balls ache after a short time, it is highly probable that there is some serious defect, and no time should he lost in consulting a competent oculist. But there are several precautions that everyone can observe, and thereby preserve as far as is possible their eyesight. Never try to read or lo do work reauiring close application of the eyesight in a poor light When reading or writing arrange whenever you can to have the light come over vour shoulder —preferably the left. Avoid exposing the eyes to a sudden bright, light, nnd do not work in a glare. Electric lights may often be .shaded so as to tone down the excessive briliance, and if the shade be green so much the better. Do not, sleep in front of an uncurtained window, as strong iieht on eyes while sleeping is not restful. On -first »waking some little time elapses before the eyes aie fi.lly accustomed to the davlight. and on this account: it is not well +o read immediately on waking. Never take a baby out into the brieht sunshine without a hat or some shade for its eyes. If your perambulator has a. white shade line it with green, po that the little occupant may have something- restful +o look uv> at. Remember he is not able to voice his discomfort. or even to get nway from the glare that is a torture-to him.

A New Remedy

According to Nature, a new remedy for crtain skin diseases has been found in solid carbon-dioxide. This substance is now commonly sold comoressed in cylinder for the preparation of aerated waters. When the.tan connected with the cylinder is realeaisied the e-as rushes out. jar>d owinsr to it<? srreat exrmn.sion it is chilled so that a miniature jet of frozen or solid ca: ton

dioxide, like snow, is produced. 'J'h's may bo caught in a tube, and with a closefitting piston be compressed into a solid rod. The rod is quite firm, ana i:ry be pared with a knife into any desired shape. When su-oh a rod is applied to the skin it freezes it over a larger or smaller area, according to the length of contact and the size of the rod. Application for about a- minute is employed in some oases. The thawing takes about as long a time as the application. A slight swelling takes place, then a weal, and sometimes a blister. The remedy has been employed for p »t win© mark, moles, and warts. So far the results .seem to have been satisf.xirory, but now far it may be used is at present uncertain.

Fat as Food

Fat in some form is as necessary as albuminoid substances, although it does not directly affect the upbuilding of the body. It supplies animal heat aiid the energy which enables us to do our work; it also tends to the assimilation and digestion of various other substances taken in the shape of food—albuminoids, ir.cieed, cannot be properly digested without fat. Butter is the most agreeable way of taking fat; good dripping is highly valuable. and in some Gases proves more digestible even than butter. The Continental fashion, of dressing salads with good olive cil is one that might he more widely adopted here with advantage, as tending to make the green vegetables easier of digestion. In winter specially f at should enter Lrgely into our diet, since it generates heat. We all know that the Esquimaux combat the intense cold of the Arctic regions by a diet largely composed of train oil, seal blubber, and the like, all of which strike us as very disgusting. We are fortunately not compelled to resort to any such articles of food, but fat in so»; e fcim must be taken if we are to keep well in winter. Suet puddings are highly nutritious, and are generally relished, if well made, by children and' adults; slices of bread dipped in bacon fai;, and cold boiled baoon .are excellent as breakfast dishes. Taken alone, fat is not easily digested', and with these last foods a good allowance of bread ought to be eaten. Where it can be taken, small doses of cod-liver oil will prove beneficial to the weakly.