CHAPTER XVII 



DISORDERS OF NUTRITION AND METABOLISM 



Foods are those substances with which living organ- 

 isms repair tissues consumed in the wear and tear of life, 

 and furnish the heat and energy for the vital processes. 



Inanition and Starvation. Lack of food causes a 

 diminution of energy and weakness followed by loss of 

 weight, as the various tissues of the body are appropri- 

 ated to maintain heat and energy. The fat and muscles 

 are consumed first, then the tissues of the liver, bones, 

 and heart. Such a condition may occur either from lack 

 of food or from inability to digest and appropriate food, 

 as in cancer of the stomach or intestines. 



Overfeeding. An increased ingestion of food in per- 

 sons of great digestive capacity may cause various dis- 

 orders, first among which may be mentioned obesity or 

 increase of the fatty tissues of the body. Such increase, 

 if deposited about the heart or within the heart muscles, 

 may cause death. 



Overfeeding necessarily is a relative matter, as great 

 energy and muscular exertion must call for more food in 

 the same individual than comparative quiet and lack 

 of exercise. Besides fatty deposits in the heart, kidneys, 

 and blood-vessels, overfeeding leads to the condition 



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