SCIENCE SIFTINGS

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 9, 1 March 1923, Page 54

SCIENCE SIFTINGS

By "VOLT"

Obesity: A Physician's Views. Apart from some rare conditions, ft can hardly be doubted that ordinary obesity of middle life is due to a disproportion between the intake of energy in the form of food and its output in the form of muscular work. This disproportion may be caused by excessive consumption of food. But many stout persons are moderate eaters, and in these cases the disproportion arises from inadequate oxidation of the food, associated with excessive absorption of those materials which produce fat.

So long as fatness is compatible with good health its reduction is not really called for. In any case, rapid reduction is seldom advisable, and by no means free from danger. One pound weight per week for the first month and subsequently a. pound per month until the normal is reached is what should be aimed at.

Adherence to a few simple rules is usually sufficient. The output should be increased by taking more exercise, and the intake limited by dieting.

Sugar, honey, jams, and pastry are forbidden, and bread should be reduced to two ounces daily. Green vegetables are beneficial, but potatoes, carrots, artichokes, and beetroot should not be taken.

Fats, especially cream, are forbidden, and very little butter is allowed.

It is usual to forbid drinking with meals, and, as few people relish dry meals, this has the effect of reducing the quantity of food eaten.

Don’t Be Afraid of Fatigue. “That tired feeling” which so often holds us back from

our best efforts is largely due to an incorrect conception of fatigue.

True fatigue is a chemical affair and is the result, of recent effort, either physical, mental, or emotional. It is the sum of sensations arising from the presence of waste materials in the muscles and blood.

Most of these waste products are carried away by the human machine as soon as they are made, and any slight lagging behind is made good in the hours of sleep. In health the body never gets far behind, and there is no accumulation of waste products from day to day. A man who had not eliminated the poisons of a month-old effort would probably not be tired but dead. Fatigue is not lasting; it either kills or cures itself.

Lightly regarded, fatigtie is Nature’s safety valve to keep us within safe limits, but as a rule it makes us stop long before the danger-point is reached. There is, therefore, a constant tendency for us to become too sensitive to fatigue, more especially when the task is monotonous and lacking in interest. Once we fall into this habit of looking out for the first signs of fatigue these become so insistent as to monopolise our attention. Attention increases any sensation, especially if colored by fear. We think we are tiled and become discouraged; when we become discouraged we feel more tired. In any work what tells is the feeling sorry for oneself because one has a hard job. Sense of power comes from tho simple belief that we are equal to the task. If you are chronically tired and feel fatigue more easily than others there may be a physical reason, but if you are passed,Jit then your trouble is “merely nervous.”

The cure lies in taking fatigue philosophically, as a natural and harmless phenomenon which will soon disappear if ignored. Given decent hygienic surroundings eight hours’ sleep, three square meals a day, and a proper amount of fresh air and exercise— can stand almost any amount of work provided we do not complicate it with worry. Do not be afraid of fatigue.