Salt Lake Telegram | 1931-11-13 | Page 15 | Daily Health Service

Daily He Health Service Overweight Not Always Matter of Heredity By Dr MORRIS 1 FISHBEIN Editor Journal of Medical Medical Med Med- ical leal Association nd of ot the Health Magazine It was found in Scotland as has been een found also in this country that about bout 70 per cent of ot all of those who were vere ere overweight had moth mothers rs or 01 fathers fathers fa- fa who were also overweight It is believed that this is a a apart part of ot the thede desire de de- derc sire rc of ot those who ar are overweight to attribute tribute their condition to circumstances circum circum- stances over which they have no control conol con- con ol rather than to their own ovin own mode of f life lile Thus the patients themselves tend nd to Ito magnify the hereditary side of their weaknesses American physicians have felt that thai the e tendency of ot the children of fat people cople to be Jat fat is not something Inborn inborn in- in born orn but is most likely due to the fact ct that the children live under the theme same me conditions as do their parents and that the children therefore eat too much and arid exercise too little exactly as their parents eat too much and exercise too little There is of ot course something tobe to be said on both sides Certainly there must be some hereditary tendency to overweight because the excess excess ss fat is deposited in the children In relatively relative relative- ly the same places about the body as in th parents In other words in one family the woman will tend to have fat arms and relatively thin hips whereas in the other group they will tend to have fat tat hips but relatively thin arms Certainly however however however how how- ever there is much to be said forthe for forthe forthe the influence of ot environment and the habits the ot of the family as regards eat eat- ing There are certain families of foreign foreign foreign for for- eign parentage which attempt inthis in inthis inthis this country to maintain the dietary habits they had abroad Diets of various various various va va- va- va rious races vary greatly in the amounts of sugar and fat that they contain I II I Most people who have paid little attention to diet underestimate greatly great great- ly the thc amount of ot food that they actually actually actually ac ac- eat cat The majority of ot people who arc are overweight claim they eat like ike canary birds and that they never indulge heartily in food tood If however a careful invoice is made of ot all of the food that is taken in it is usually found that they eat excessively Furthermore when they are put on diets containing very small amounts of ot food they begin to reduce re reduce re- re duce weight immediately Moreover an analysis of the previous diet usually usually usual usual- ly shows that it is rich in sugars and fats whereas where ts the diets ordered bythe by bythe bythe the physician are likely to b be rich richin richin richin in protein and weak in sugars and fats