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Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 370, 11 June 1903, Page 7

Scince.

HEALTH. why do somo persona become llvClr at,noimall y stout, and others 2§£>JK meet unpleasantly thin? This question is often placed before the physiologist by candid inquirers-. They who seek for information resent the fact that an exhaustive solution of the problem is not" conveyed in a simple English sentence. They do not know that it is impossible in the practical sense of the term to satisfy their wish, for the reason that neither obesity nor thinness is invariably resultant from the same conditions.

What, is fat structurally? It is composed of small and more or less bladderlike cells. The-walHsa thin membrane, and the contents of each cell are in life liquid, being kept so by the body heat. They are oily in character, and must be considered as the true fat. The cell walls are not fatty, neither are the tissues that bind the cells logether, What is fyt chemically ? I rofer to the oil only. There are many kinds of fat, but that which forms the bulk of the adipose tissue, oft the/human body has three constituents: Olein, a very fluid material, and two others, stearin and palmitin, which would be solid were it not for their solution in the olein.

How Does Fatty Tissue Develop? By downright piracy. A fat cell never multiplies. Nearly all ether cells have the power of reproducing their kind, In every part of the body there is to be found 'connective tissue,' binding together blood vessels, "muscles, nerves, and other structures, : and uniting their essential parts. If the connective ttissue were taken away the body "would fall to pieces, and very minut© pieces. It is the living mortar of the more vital tissues. Fat comes into existence thus: Fluid oil is circulating in the blood; a minute droplet manages to penetrate the wall of a connective tissue cell. The natural contents of the cell slowly disappear. More oil enters, and finally there is nothing but oil within the bladder-like wall. This is now a ' fat cell.' It is really the eviscerated wall of another bodily unit, occupied by an oily robber. But the wall is still living, and in one part o? it is a particle rather different from the rest, called the nucleus. This is practically the seed of the original cell; hence it makes another connective tissue unit. If this is useful in binding the fat cells together the' predatory circulating oil may leave it alone. Otherwise it will be attacked, and so on mdf finitely. This is a plan of Nature for the structural development of fat} Whence is the* Oil Derived?

Chiefly from fat taken as food, partly also from a suostance—glycogen—formed by the liver. Glycogen is built up from the starches, sugars, and proteids of food. In the ordinary person very little of the total glycogen is cnanged into fat. In otherß the proportion iB very large. This excessive transformation of glycogen into fat is the cause of obesity where neither diet nor exercise is at fault.

Needless correspondence may be obviated by my saying here that this

formation of. fat from glycogen oannot be controlled by any other means. We are now in a better position to give a reply to the question with which thiß article opened ; but the answer will not be exhaustive. Obesity may be due to the physiological pecularity mentioned ; it may be brought about by over feeding; or it may be owing to other causes. Through every moment of life the cells of the body are being destroyed. Wont of muscle, brain, or other structure always increases destruction of tissue, and although it may subsequently enlarge the part (muscular development from exercise will at once occur to the reader) it never brings about any increase of fat. This is because fat does no real work. So far from labour, whether of brain or muscle, increasing fat, it lessens this tissue, splitting it up chemically to meet the increased demands of nutrition. Hence we arrive at two other possible causes of obesity—insufficient muscular and mental activity.

Muscular work increases muscle and lessens fat. Genuine thought and study increase the mental powers and lessen fat. Worry and excitement lessen fat, but improve neither muscle nor brain. Here the attenuated reader may assail me with —' I do not worry and I never get excited. I take only reasonable exercise, but am painfully thin.' Then the food taken does not become properly assimilated, or there is some grave bodily discharge acting as a drain on tbe blood.

This is a practical little study, so for hashed platitudes about good temper and the like kindly refer to other journals* Let us briefly look at the detail of assimilation. If this is faulty the point of error may be within the digestive canal, or within the tissues. More definitely, the food may not be absorbed because it is imperfectly digested; the parts whose duty it is to absorb may fail to execute their.function on account of weakness; or, when the food has been digested and received into the blood the tissues may be in a measure incapable of transforming the material into their own substance. If the fault is with the digestion the sufferer will know the fact, and, if he is careful, he will be able to fix on the foods that are not readily digested. When the fault is with the absorbing parts there are unmistakable intestinal signs of a character that I cannot discuss here. Lastly, we have failure of assimilation proper—that is, an inability of the tissues to nourish themselves from the circulating, blood. This may be due to the character of the blood, and in that case the chief fault is most frequently with the. liver, an offender easily detected; or it may be dependent on weak ' metabolic J power of the tissue cells—that is, power of freeing themselves from effete material, and taking new sustenance. Allied cases are sometimes operative, increasing the difficulty of diagnosis. Obviously, therefore, each case of attenuation demands special consideration. What should be the rules of living for the obese and the emaciated patient P The stout person should avoid taking much fluid; the less he drinks the better. Salted and smoked meats must be avoided, as they occasion thirst. Milk, cream, malt liquors, butter, olives, nuts, fat meats, vermicelli, arrowroot, potatoes, and chocolate help to develop fat. : The practise of inunction—that is, of rubbing into the skin nutrients with the view of their forming local fat—is always worthy trial. Even if the nutrient is poor the massage will stimulate formation of tissue, and if the * food' be of a character fitted for the part, be it bust, face, or limb, marked benefit will certainly follow.