Show LJ o ABS u Lr TODAY TAY TAYoC r d A Y oC J i tJ m m Uj n a r f Problem of Excess access Weight Weicht As A S OVERWEIGHT does does does- d A- A not caus cause much disturb disturb- disturbance disturbance disturbance ance in 10 young people except that it spoils their appearance and interferes with their activIty activity activity ity not much is thought about it from the health standpoint nut But just as soon as the passes the age ae of at thirty and is ac- ac ac acquiring quiring weight the records show that n ga he is not as good gooda a risk for tor Insurance companIes not only i from the likelihood of diabetes but be- be because be because cause of the burden burdens s i placed on the heart by the excess ot of weight L ii Now why does approaching ap ap- ap preaching middle- middle age make such a Dr Barton Darton difference to the tha heart In those who are overweight The answer to this takes us a away way back to the birth and early infancy of all of ot us The records show that not many years ago the death rote rate at birth and during the first year of life lUe was about six in every twenty youngsters and today thanks to more knowledge and care that death rate is not quite two In twenty Obesity Vs Va Heart Trouble This means that four tour or five more youngsters in every twenty now get safely past the first year a certain proportion attain manhood and to mIddle age However it is only too true that even those who have reached middle age are not likely generally speaking to be as strong as the average and have not with with- withstood withstood stood infections or other ailments as well If U then the results of these infections or ailments are present and to these results overweight Is added you can understand that the heart may have so much war work k placed on it that its reserve strength is lessened Drs Harry L L Smith and Fred Ired Frederick erick crick A A Mayo clinic tell tellus tellus us in the Journal of the Iowa Med Med- MedIcal Medical ical cal society that they believe that the part played by overweight in producing be heart art failure in most in- in instances in instances stances consists in adding a burden to that which the heart is at present bearing due to some other disease already present The diseases like like- likely likely ly to be bo present are high blood pressure hardening of the arteries and any heart disease already pres pres- present present ent is distinctly more serious it if overweight o or excess fat tat is present throughout the entire body In the opinion of Drs Smith and lUlus Willius it is only in rare Instances that the overweight or excess fat alone is the cause of the heart failure While most physicians may be d to agree with the above statement there are a number of cases of early failure where as asfar asfar asfar far as the usual tests and examina examinations lions show no real heart disease was present but by reducing the weight the falling heart was re- re re restored stored Drs Smith and Willi Willius us studIed the records of obese over over- overweight over over- overweight overweight weight patients during life and the results of the examination after I death post mortem Cases Are Grouped I These cases were divided Into four groups Group 1 i 52 cases revealed no I heart disease other than abnormal I amounts of fat about the heart Group 2 2 consisted of nine cases four of which died of congestive heart failure All AU nine showed signs of heart failure and were con con- considered considered considered direct results of overweight Group 3 S comprised 50 GO patients an all cases of overweight with high blood pressure Group 4 4 cases of obesity with different forms of heart hardening disease hardening of arteries sup sup- supplying supplying supplying plying heart muscle the severe form of goitre partial closure of heart valve comprised valve comprised 15 cases Gall stones were present in 37 per percent percent percent cent of the cases The above statements and figures show that while overweight or fat may not be the first cause of heart failure nevertheless the o 0 so It weakens wakens eakens the po power er of the tho heart that it is unable to do the work necessary to keep the tho indivIdual alive aUve and in fair health It Is to the added burden the last straw as it were to bring about the complete failure of a heart that would bo be beable able to carry on if excess fat were not present Excess deposit of fat lessens the ability of the heart to do its work by its interference not only with heart action but by cutting down the blood supply of the muscular I walls of the heart hearL The thought then is for persons of excess weight to lessen the r r-ork r ork of the heart by cutting down their weight And no matter what the cause of the overweight unless the individual individual ual is ill m cutting down the food in- in intake intake in intake take w will l reduce s weight eight eight in es c cery ery case cose I e O Service e I |