FASTING AS A “PROFESSION”

Otago Witness, Issue 3957, 14 January 1930, Page 72

FASTING AS A “PROFESSION”

The recent death of Ricardo Sacco, the famous fasting man, after 65 days’ abstention from food, and the severe'strictures passed by the Blackpool coroner at the inquest which followed, raises the question whether exhibitions of selfimposed starvation for money-making purposes should be permitted in public places (writes D. A. Oswald, in the Glasgow Weekly Herald). Fasting is, of course, not a new theory regarded from its scientific value; but among medical men of the present day there is a considerable diversity of opinion as to whether it is a safe means of obtaining perfect health. As a “profession,” fasting is an unedifying spectacle and one which, in the opinion of many people, should not have legal sanction.

I hat Sacco was “ out to make money in what most people would regard as a most revolting way.” was one of the comments made by the coroner at the inquiry into his death. “ How people can be induced to go and see a man who is starving himself ... I cannot conceive,” he added. “If the authorities had power to do so, they ought to have intervened on the grounds of hygiene and sanitation.” (It was disclosed in the evidence that the glass case in which Sacco fasted was in an insanitary condition. )

Some time ago Sacco declared that he “ fasted to live," and that in 10 weeks he had made on one occasion " only £90.” Whether the sum can be accepted as a criterion of the average earnings of professional fasting men is doubtful. It is generally believed, however, to be quite a remunerative occupation. Some' years ago a “ champion ” divulged the information that from those who had him to give a public “display” he received £250 before he was “sealed up,” and £250 when he had finished his fast!

The subject of starvation is one which | has always attracted a good deal of attention. Die works of the earlier writers, scientific and lay, abound in narratives of fasts, which they state they have cither witnessed or heard of from good authority. But it was not so much in relation to medicine as to religion that fasting in the early times became prom inent. The old Eastern religions had their fasting periods just as "they had their feastings. In many instances fasting became actually a part of their religious ceremony, and in this connection many extraordinary cases of endurance have been recorded. In quite recent times the case was reported of a religious mendicant of the Jain caste who, as a penance, fasted for 91 days. Another wonderful achievement was performed some years ago by a French murderer named Gjaaiie, at Toulouse, who. determined to starve himself to death in order to escape the guillotine, refused from the day of his arrest to eat. For 63 days he went without food, in spite of the efforts of his warders, who cooked delicious dishes of food and placed them in his cell. Such was the will of the man, however, that he shut his eyes, clenched his teeth, and conquered his craving. An attempt was made to feed him by force, but was abandoned owing to his violence, and in the end he died. He had only taken a few pints of water during the whole of his fast.

Another class of subjects arc the professional fasting men. Among the better known of these are Stefona Merlatti, a young Italian artist, who, in the autumn of 18,86. liived for 50 days on distilled water; Dr Fanner, of Now 5 ork, pioneer of professional fasters, who abstained from food for 40 days; the famous Giovanni Sueci. who carried out manv fast.- of 39 to 40 days’ duration; anil Guisep]x* Sacco-Homann—th? original Sacco —who performed many fasting feats in this country.

But many so-called “ p -ofessionals ” are merely impostors, in that they consume a certain amount of foodstuffs—very sweet lemonade, for example, during the reputed fast. It is, however, very difficult for these men to obtain an adequate supply of nourishment, provided they are under reasonably strict observation, as there are no concentrated foods they can consume surreptitiously in sufficient amount to do more than merely prolong the fasting period before death takes place. The editor tells me that he was once tempted to go to see a “ famous ” fasting man nearing the end of one of his great exhibition fasts in Glasgow over a quarter of a century ago. and found the so-called “sealed” ease—four glass partitions with a glass roof elaborately padlocked, but fitted so loosely to the uneven floor that biscuits and sandwiches could have been shoved in ad lib. Neither the “fasting” man’s manager nor the manager of the show seemed at all grateful for having this possibility pointed out to them, and the editor was not invited back to witness the ceremonious conclusion of the—needless to say—successful “fast.” •■s ¥ *

As regards the sensations during fasting, generally speaking, provided water is taken, it may be said that they are not all painful after the first day* or two. If. on the other hand, water be not taken, there is very real pain and suffering in the early days at least. Fortunately, such fasts are usually not of

long duration. The sensation of huimer may' be absent from the beginning. As regards the possible duration of the fast, it is impossible to lay down any definite period. It depends very' largely on the type of individual, both pliysirally and psychically, the state of nutrition, the conditions, favourable or unfavourable, under which the fast is carried out, and whether or not water is taken. An average man deprived of food and water and exposed to cold would die in the course of a few da vs, whereas the same'man, given water and kept warm, could be easily kept alive for weeks. It is said, but without much evidence to support it, that a man will go on living until he has lost about half his body weight.

It is a remarkable fact that there are so many records of women who have fasted for extended periods, not a few of them undergoing the self-imposed task for purely mercenary reasons. One of the most notable eases of this kind occurred in London many years ago, when a Danish woman. Mme Auguste Christensen. accomplished a 30 days’ fast, during which she attracted great crowds of people who feasted their eyes night after night on what, after all,' was a rattier degrading spectacle. Mme Christensen was the first woman to make a public attempt in London to abstain from food tor any lengthy period, although there had been two or three instances in the provinces and abroad whore it had been attempted liefore. but without success. The latest instance of a female attempting to break the world's fasting record occurred at Bordeaux, where Miss Yorke, a 22-year-old English girl, collapsed from a heart attack after beiii" shut up in a glass case in a cinema. In recent years, women seem to have gone entirely out of the “professional fasting ” business; if the authorities were to prohibit such revolting exhibitions, either by men or women, a real public service would be rendered. Socalled “ famous fasting feats ” contribute nothing to the elevation of the ]>opular ta-'tc for wholesome entertainment, and it they were banned by legal enactment, or otherwise, no one would sutler the least hardship.