Over-consumption of Food. In our own series of cases the chief cause of overweight has been an over-consumption of food. The concentrated and attractive forms in which many kinds of food are available, leads easily to eating highly nutritious portions without a consciousness of over-eating in quantity. Widespread advertising of prepared foods has led to […]

Regardless of the type of obesity, diet and exercise are the two most important factors in its treatment. Increase of weight has been accompanied by too much food and too little exercise; in reducing weight the essential program requires less food and more exercise. We do not advise a loss of more than eight to […]

To state with exactness what a person must weigh is hardly possible, but average weights have been computed from large age groups of persons who have experienced ordinary good health. The expectancy of life is greatest when these figures prevail. Where one’s weight is only slightly under the average after forty years of age, according […]

Overweight, often looked upon humorously, is in reality a serious disease. With its complications it shortens the prospects of life. It can usually be prevented and treated by an intelligent choice of food and exercise. IN a previous chapter we have discussed the problems of underweight. We have pointed out that in some in-stances we […]

Contributory Causes. Delayed or incomplete function of the colon may arise from several causes, and in the study of any single instance a careful investigation should be made of the general health of the patient. Where the muscle of the bowel wall is thin naturally or where its tone is lessened by age or lowered […]

A failure of any portion of the digestive tract to function in a normal manner in changing food, may be referred to as indigestion. Irregular conditions in certain organs, for example, the small intestine, may be observed more than in others. Faulty digestion of starch in the mouth is not accompanied by symptoms. Insufficient or […]

By a method quite simple in itself it is possible to measure the strength of acid and pepsin present in the gastric juice of the stomach. A test meal, spoken of as the Ewald test meal, is used. It consists of a small quantity of toast or crackers eaten with a cupful of tea or […]

This word is one which has come into use in relatively recent years and is used to name the state where one reacts to substances in a way differing from the average normal person. For example, there are some people whose lips thicken, eyes swell shut, and nasal passages narrow, or in whom asthmatic symptoms […]

PROTEINS The Importance of Proteins. Because they are found universally in the cells of plant and animal life it seems appropriate that we should first consider proteins as we begin the study of food substances. The name is formed by modifying the Greek word, PROTOS, meaning first. Proteins then may be thought of as first […]