﻿LENGTHENING 
  OF 
  HUMAN 
  LIFE 
  FISHER 
  545 
  

  

  cent 
  in 
  the 
  death 
  rate 
  of 
  the 
  policy 
  holders 
  affected 
  and, 
  among 
  a 
  

   group 
  of 
  impaired 
  lives, 
  a 
  reduction 
  of 
  50 
  per 
  cent 
  (11). 
  Thus 
  was 
  

   demonstrated 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  individual 
  h3^giene 
  even 
  when 
  it 
  was, 
  as 
  

   we 
  know, 
  only 
  very 
  imperfectly 
  applied. 
  After 
  this 
  record 
  44 
  other 
  

   life-insurance 
  companies 
  joined 
  the 
  service. 
  

  

  The 
  Life 
  Extension 
  Institute 
  has 
  now 
  examined 
  500,000 
  people 
  

   and 
  stimulated 
  the 
  custom 
  of 
  periodical 
  medical 
  examinations 
  among 
  

   the 
  medical 
  profession. 
  Perhaps 
  its 
  most 
  important 
  service 
  consists 
  

   in 
  thus 
  stimulating 
  physicians 
  to 
  pay 
  more 
  attention 
  to 
  individual 
  

   hygiene 
  (12). 
  Any 
  thorough 
  examination 
  will 
  find 
  defects, 
  both 
  in 
  

   physical 
  condition 
  and 
  in 
  habits 
  of 
  living, 
  among 
  over 
  99 
  per 
  cent 
  

   of 
  those 
  examined. 
  Anyone 
  who 
  sets 
  out 
  to 
  improve 
  his 
  health 
  finds 
  

   plenty 
  of 
  room 
  for 
  improvement. 
  But 
  to 
  help 
  him 
  to 
  secure 
  this 
  

   possible 
  improvement 
  the 
  medical 
  profession 
  needs 
  higher 
  standards 
  

   of 
  health. 
  Physicians 
  are 
  trained 
  to 
  treat 
  the 
  sick; 
  they 
  must 
  learn 
  

   how 
  to 
  treat 
  the 
  so-called 
  well. 
  

  

  In 
  order 
  to 
  get 
  any 
  results, 
  the 
  physician 
  who 
  preaches 
  hygiene 
  

   must 
  also 
  practice 
  what 
  he 
  preaches. 
  To 
  merely 
  examine 
  a 
  man 
  is 
  

   not 
  enough; 
  the 
  physician 
  must 
  have 
  something 
  educational 
  to 
  give, 
  

   and 
  he 
  must 
  take 
  it 
  seriously 
  himself. 
  The 
  essence 
  of 
  improving 
  

   health 
  for 
  the 
  so-called 
  well 
  is 
  improving 
  habits. 
  Habits 
  are 
  slow 
  

   to 
  change, 
  yet 
  only 
  in 
  this 
  wa}^ 
  shall 
  we 
  ever 
  add 
  greatly 
  to 
  the 
  

   expectation 
  of 
  life 
  at 
  the 
  later 
  ages. 
  

  

  If 
  by 
  merely 
  scratching 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  individual 
  hygiene 
  the 
  death 
  

   rate 
  can 
  be 
  reduced 
  18 
  per 
  cent 
  and 
  for 
  impaired 
  lives 
  53 
  per 
  cent, 
  

   what 
  may 
  we 
  not 
  expect 
  if 
  health 
  ideals 
  ever 
  really 
  take 
  hold 
  of 
  our 
  

   civilization 
  (14) 
  ? 
  

  

  The 
  favorable 
  results 
  of 
  the 
  Metropolitan 
  Life 
  statistics 
  confirm, 
  

   and 
  are 
  confirmed 
  by, 
  the 
  similar 
  statistics 
  of 
  the 
  Guardian 
  Life 
  and 
  

   the 
  Postal 
  Life. 
  The 
  Guardian 
  Life 
  finds 
  an 
  average 
  reduction 
  of 
  23 
  

   per 
  cent 
  in 
  the 
  death 
  rate 
  of 
  the 
  policy 
  holders 
  affected. 
  The 
  experi- 
  

   ence 
  of 
  the 
  examinees 
  shows 
  that 
  many 
  with 
  overweight 
  corrected 
  it 
  

   before 
  .the 
  next 
  examination 
  and 
  that 
  even 
  such 
  serious 
  symptoms 
  as 
  

   albumin 
  and 
  sugar 
  in 
  the 
  urine 
  were 
  checked. 
  

  

  It 
  may 
  be 
  thought 
  that 
  the 
  life-insurance 
  policyholders 
  who 
  take 
  

   examinations 
  are 
  a 
  self-selected 
  group. 
  To 
  meet 
  the 
  objections, 
  a 
  

   test 
  is 
  being 
  made 
  among 
  industrial 
  workers, 
  who 
  are 
  examined 
  as 
  a 
  

   group 
  (25), 
  and 
  where 
  self 
  -selection 
  is 
  practically 
  absent. 
  

  

  Prof. 
  A. 
  H. 
  'Ryan 
  (15), 
  of 
  Tufts 
  Medical 
  School, 
  working 
  on 
  such 
  

   data 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  Life 
  Extension 
  Institute, 
  has 
  given 
  exact 
  sta- 
  

   tistical 
  expression 
  to 
  the 
  actual 
  influence 
  of 
  the 
  periodic 
  health 
  ex- 
  

   amination 
  in 
  a 
  paper 
  not 
  yet 
  published 
  (7). 
  

  

  