THE FRONTIERS OF MEDICINE 



As a rule, the average person maintains for approximately 

 ten years a certain weight, which varies hardly a pound 

 from any one year to another. Obviously, there is in the 

 human body a regulating mechanism for balancing the 

 intake and output so that the weight will remain fairly 

 constant. 



If a person over-exercises, he eats more; if he takes less 

 exercise, he feels less need for food and eats less. This is 

 largely automatic. As one advances toward middle age, he 

 begins to add a little to the store of body fat, at thirty-five 

 years weighing approximately ten pounds more than at 

 twenty-five, and at fifty, ten or twenty pounds more than 

 at thirty-five. This takes place so regularly that it is con- 

 sented to be normal. It is probably due to lessened activity, 

 a lowered activity particularly of the glands, and perhaps 

 to a more quiet life in every possible way. 



There are people, however, who gain much more weight 

 than has been described as the normal gain. There are 

 some families which tend to be fat. Just as there are animals 

 thin and fat, large and small, so also there are human 

 beings of various shapes and sizes, owing to the heredity 

 of the family and to racial type. A German woman tends 

 to be fat, and a Japanese woman to be thin. 



In the disease condition called obesity, the human being 

 stores up surplus material taken in the form of food instead 

 of eliminating it so as to maintain the body weight at 

 normal for the particular age and height. People who eat 

 too much, exercise too little, and who eat particularly 

 large amounts of rich foods are bound to put on weight. 

 Children in such families acquire the bad habits from their 

 parents, and the tendency to overweight becomes estab- 

 lished. People in desk jobs tend to overweight. Owing 

 to constant pressure on the regulating mechanism, it may 

 break down after a certain amount of time and thus estab- 

 lish a vicious circle. There is a considerable number of 



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