Problems of The Middle- Aged Woman

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 5, Issue 5, 1 November 1926, Page 35

Problems of The MiddleAged Woman

Sign-posts to the straight and narrow way of keeping fit are here indicated by Dr. Cecil Webb-J We have travelled a long way from the days when married women, whatever their age, wore —you can sec them in du Manner's drawings in “Punch” of the ’seventies and ’eighties—and when the “frisky matron” was a phenomenon to be regarded with more curiosity than approval. Nowadays grandmothers kick up their heels in night-clubs and dress in kneelength modes, shingle their hair, drink cocktails, and generally conduct themselves as if time had stood still. While it is true that we are living longer as well as faster — thanks to more enlightened ideas on hygiene— still, Nature will not be denied. Nature, the wise old mother, did not intend a woman of fortyeight to behave like a girl of eighteen, and disregard of this fundamental fact will lead to disaster.

It is comparatively easy for a young woman to throw off the effects of a succession of late suppers, with rich and stimulating food. The modern girl takes abundance of exercise, and her organs arc, as a rule, actively functioning in a satisfactory manner, and in this way a large quantity of food can be disposed of without much harm being done always provided that excess is not habitual. Occasionally the over-charged system is relieved by a “sick headache” — or what our mothers called a bilious attack this, though intensely disagreeable and humiliating at the time, is Nature’s safeguard. The woman between forty and sixty is in a very different category. The functional activity has already begun to “slow up,” if one may speak colloquially. There is less power of assimilating and digesting food, on account of changes in the alimentary canal and the secreting

glands. Unfortunately, it is at this very time that women are apt to take an exaggerated interest in the “pleasures of the table.” The flagging appetite demands artificial stimulation, the cook is taxed to provide rich and savoury foods, and this in turn leads to over-eating. In middle life, the relief of a sick headache is often denied by Nature. Instead, the excess of food goes to the formation of fat, or to tissue which clogs the internal organs. Often the excess material causes disease of the liver, o- brings on gout or rheumatism. The regulation of the diet is therefore the first consideration. Believing, as I do, that if only people could be persuaded to eat sensibly ninety-nine per cent, of illnesses would be prevented, I am inclined to lay stress on this, remembering the Japanese proverb which says: “All diseases enter by the mouth.” In middle age, therefore, the intake of food must be diminished. The continual and heavy waste that

goes on in a young girl actively engaged in work or exercise lias no longer to be repaired. Occasionally one hears a woman exclaim, “Oh. I am not as young as I was ; I need more support.” She means that she intends to “support” herself by burdening her degenerating digestive processes with more food than they were called upon to tackle at their healthiest and most active period ! The utter fatuity of this view needs no demonstrating. One might as well say, “This horse is old and failing; his shaky old legs will scarcely bear him along the road. Let us therefore pile upon him a bigger load than if lie were young and strong.” Unfortunately, this error, gigantic as it is, is widespread; which is why one often secs a middle-aged woman working her way doggedly through an enormous meal which a healthy young woman athlete could hardly

tackle. The mistaken notion that, as one grows older, one needs to be ‘‘supported” by larger quantities of food, has caused much needless suffering and cut short many a life. A little observation only is needed to show the falsity of this idea. One always finds that elderly peopie who enjoy extraordinarily good health for their time of life are strictly moderate in their eating and drinking.

A /Federation in the matter of animal food is especially to be observed by the woman no longer young. In the immature, animal food may be a necessity, as it helps to build up the constitution and repair the waste which is constantly going on. With the mature woman, especially when approaching middle life, meat is not required so urgently. Dishes containing flesh meat should only be taken at one meal >.f the day—preferably at the evening dinner. Long menus, containing

heavy and elaborate dishes, should be avoided by the middle-aged; and unfortunately, it is precisely at this time of life that they make their greatest appeal! However, the practice of self-denial is good for the soul, or so we arc told, and it is indubitably good for the body. Of course, a good deal depends on the personal idiosyncrasy. Some constitutions are better suited by small meals at fairly short intervals while

others flourish best when some time elapses between each meal. Caution in the use of alcoholic beverages is especially wise at this time. All opinion is agreed that in the middle period of life, when regrets for lost youth invade the mind, and the pleasures of early life can be nothing hut memories, the temporary comfort of alcohol makes a special appeal. Care must he taken that a habit is not formed. It has been observed in innumerable cases

that thhe alcoholic habit appears in middle-aged women who as girls and young matrons scarcely knew the taste of distilled or fermented beverages. This may seem a harsh saying, and happily it does not apply to millions of cases; but there are exceptions, and no good can be done by blinking the facts. In middle life the digestion should be carefully watched, for the organs tend to lose their tone in time; and this may give rise to unpleasant symptoms unless th e appropriate measures are taken. The woman no longer young, however, will probably escape these ills if she takes for her motto: “Moderation in all things.” Exercise is necessary at all ages ; but the woman of middle age tends to fall into one of two extremes. She either becomes extremely slack and lazy, or, on the other hand, she continues to practise games and sports with desperate energy, in order to show the world that she i : not so middle-aged, after all. Both these courses should be avoided ; for each has its peculiar dangers. The perils that beset the armchair woman need no stressing. Obesity creeps upon her ; she becomes shapeless ; while the very real dangers (of apoplexy, etc.) which obesity brings in its train menace her health and even life itself! However much of an effort it may be, she should force herself to take a certain amount of open-air exercise every clay. It is no use relying on what the Victorians, with unconscious humour, called “carriage exercise”; that is no exercise at all. In fact, the woman who wishes to keep fit in middle age should do some walking every day. It is no doubt a great temptation to avail oneself of the handy omnibus and the convenient taxi-cab: but a determination to valk to the shops, instead of beingcarried there, will be rewarded byimproved health and looks. Gardening is another pleasant and healthful occupation, in which the woman no longer young will find not only interest but improved looks and well-being. For one thing, it keeps a person out in the open air and sunlightboth health-giving and the various little tasks to be found among the flower-beds and the shrubs and rose-bushes insensibly" provide the body with needed exercise. It is not suggested that a woman unused to manual toil should actually take a spade and dig; there

are many other ways in a garden of benefiting both body and mind. The benefits of fresh air and sunshine are impossible to over-estimate. The blood is oxygenated when a person exercises under the blue canopy of the sky, the nervous system is toned up, the functions of the skin are stimulated, and almost the most important thing of all, the resistance to infection is improved. Disease holds sway in darksome corners of the town where fresh air and sunlight seldom penetrate ; the same holds good of the human body. Busy professional women, who are precluded from open-air exercise to a great extent, may obtain much benefit from deep breathing. This can be practised for a few moments in the bedroom, both night and morning. The corsets should be discarded, as they interfere with the movements of the chest and the abdomen. While a certain amount of exercise is absolutely necessary, moderation should be practised in this as in all things. It is a saddening sight to see a woman with grown-up sons and daughters floundering about a tennis-court in a desperate but vain attempt to keep up with the younger generation. It may be far from palatable, but the unpleasant truth must be faced that the middle-aged heart and the middle-aged bloodvessels arc no longer in a condition to bear the strain of violent exercise. Golf is not so trying for the woman who is ‘‘getting on” ; but it must not be overdone. It is just as well for the middleaged woman to face facts, and acknowledge that the framework is inevitably showing signs of wear and tear. The middle-aged heart, lungs, blood-vessels, and digestion must lose some of their tone in the passage of years, and undergo the natural degenerative changes. Probably if we all lived strictly according to the rules of health, we should rot begin to go down the hill until later on in life; but this is pure speculation, and incapable of actual first-hand demonstration. We must therefore be prepared to acknowledge that at fifty-five few of us can behave as if we were twentyfive, with any satisfaction to ourselves or pleasure to the spectators. There is, however, no need for the middle-aged woman to resign herself to a shawl and an armchair. With a due observance of a wise moderation , she can continue to lead a normal life, and he “among those present" till a good deal later on.