HEALTH AND FITNESS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9, 4 September 1912, Page 2

HEALTH AND FITNESS.

LECTURE BY DR. TRUBY KING

Owing to the state of the weather there was but a moderate attendance at the Town, Hall last evening to hear the lecture delivered by Dr. Truby King, who is associated with the Public Health Department, in a mission which has as its object the extension of the work of the Society for the Health of Women and Child ren from the chief centres to all parts of the Dominion. In introducing the lecturer, the Mayor (Mr W. P. Kirkwood), who presided, said that all must be aware of the great work that Dr. King had done, and was doing for the benefit of humanity. In the eight chief centres of New Zealand there had been established societies dealing with the health of women and children, and it was the desire of the Government Health Department that the functions of these societies should be made operative in the smaller towns. (Applause.) PRELIMINARY. In commencing his address, the lecturer, who was greeted with applause, said that the object of his mission lay in the fact that it was recognised that throughout the civilised world to-day there was a decided falling off in the stamina of the rising generation. A commission of investigation had found that there was an enormous prevalence of decay of teeth and as to the causes that led to this state of affairs, it was revealed that there was a great lessening in tlhie age at which children wore being nursed in the natural way by their mothers: this not because of any unwillingness on the part of mothers to nurture their children, but because the mothers were unable to do so beyond a period of six months. This was an evil which struck at the root of the nation. In a vivid picture of the squalor and dirt in which thousands of unfortunates are forced to live in the densely populated cities of the Old Country, Dr. King said that it might be expected that in a country such as New Zealand where prosperity was the rule, this “falling off” would not be so marked. Such was not the case. In tlhie inauguration of a system of military training, with the consequent medical examination, more than double the number of men were rejected on account of decayed teeth than was the case in tire Old Country. There existed no fallacy in this statement; the examinations were as stringent in both countries, and, on the opinion of men competent to judge, the teetihi of the people of New Zealand were far worse than the teeth of the people of the Old Country. “People are very much better off out here,” added the doctor, “and consequently the children are very much more addicted to eating between meals, and indulge much more in sweet things.” Similarly, the fact was brought home to them that at the present day in New Zealand the majority of our women were unable to undertake the full duties of maternity for a period beyond six months. In seeking for an illustration which would emphasise the true significance of what this meant to the stamina of a nation, Dr. King referred to the Japanese and quoted General Sir Tan Hamilton, who attributed the success of the Japanese against the Russians to the fact that the former were a normal race not suffering from the effects of civilisation, and that Japan was a country where children were reared in a natural and hardy way. THE FIRST STEP.

Dr. King proceeded to speak of the opportunities lie had Ihiad of witnessing the racial degeneration of the people of this country and of how it had occurred to him that something should ho done with regard to the securing of a greater knowledge as to what were the primary necessities of life, and the rearing of a hardy and fit race. Accordingly a nurse was sent to Dunedin, and the success of this venture, brought the suggestion that societies should he formed for the purpose of carrying on the work. Thanks in great measure to (he services of Lord and Lady Plnnket, branches were established first in Dunedin, then in Christchurch, until nurses were placed in the eight chief centres of the Dominion. Already tangible results had been achieved. Ten years ago there was no indication of any diminution in the ever-increasing death rate; but, since the Societies were formed, five years ago, that rate had decreased. In the course of those five years, they had managed in. Dunedin by taking thought, and by introducing a simple form of training, to reduce tho death rate by one-half.

Summing up, the lecturer said that it had been computed that in the next ten years a quarter of a million children would be horn in New Zealand ; hut it had been estimated that every little “immigrant” meant a gain to the country of £3OO, which meant that a reduction in the death rate of one half would represent a sum sufficient to pay off our present national debt of £75,000,000. “And, surely,” Dr. King exclaimed, “the value of that ‘produce’ will bo vastly effected by whether it is a lit and capable ‘product,’ or incapable and suffering from disease,” NATURE’S LESSON. Passing oil to the explanations of various diagrams which adorned the stage scenery, Dr. King gave his audience an insight into the scientific principles upon which the Society for the Health of Women and Children based its labours. He explained that the laws that governed plant life and animal life were equally applicable in relation to human life, and on that basis of reasoning showed by clearly defined examples the value of proper foods, the evil of over feeding and the lesser evil of under feeding. An excellent example of the latter was afforded by sensitive plants; over-fed they were sluggish, under fed they proved highly sensitive and irritable. Commenting on a scientist’s observations of these plants, Dr. King said: “So that you will see in this wonderful universe of ours little things apparently unlike to us, are really very close to us in their natures and relations; the fact is that the laws of living matter are very much similar all round.” HUMANISED MILK. Continuing, the lecturer laid bare the falsity of a belief that because most lacteal fluids were alike, and milk was necessarily of the same food value. By means of a chart ho showed the proportions of sugar, fat, and proteids in human milk and in the milk of various animals. He explained that these three main constituents of milk had definite values: sugar supplied energy, fat warmth, and proteids fleshi, and gave examples of how these constituents were proportioned according to the needs of the life which they were intended to develop. He showed that the milk of the whale was half fat, because it needed abnormal heat to allow it to live in cold waters, and Hie pointed to the fact that the proteid was the main component of rabbit’s milk, being-required to assist in a growth, a rapid flesh-building process, that was remarkable in animal life. Bringing his argument closer home, Dr. King showed how impossible it was for an infant to live naturally on cov’s milk, and laid stress on;the point that the laws! of nature were inexorable, unnatural feeding ushering in a host of attendant evils, i He pointed out that there was a. remedy in humanised milk, and by a simple process every house-wife could reduce the proporti.n s of sugar, fat, and proteid in cow s milk to correspond with the proportions: in human milk, and thus supplying the infant with a fit substitute for human milk. . CONCLUSION. ■ ' pO; In conclusion, Dr. King pas-ed on to what immense possibilities lay behind the proper feeding of infants. Ho gave a detailed account of the record achieved by a baby, whose five brothers and sisters had been physically unfit. This infant was brought up on scientific principles, that vis to say, it was fed regularly, never at night, and in certain definite quantities, with the result that the baby was of phencmilia! health and stamina. The value of fresh air, the evils of education at an early age, and the dangers of some artificial foods for infants, were also referred to in no uncertain voice. VOTE OF THANKS. At the conclusion of this lecture, Dr. Truhy King was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his instructive and able address, the mover of the motion being Mr Joseph McCluggage, and the seconder the Rev. Met son.