HEALTH AND FITNESS

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10718, 12 September 1912, Page 5

HEALTH AND FITNESS

LECTURE TSV DR. TRUBY KING. Dr Truby King, of Soadill' Mental Hospital, who i.s touring the Dominion untit'!' tlie auspice* of the Government Health lh\ nrtment. tuid delivering a series of lectures, gave a lecture in Murray's Hall, Masteftoii, last evenin"'. Mr A. R. Bunny presided over a very large attendance, the re being a predominant number of ladies. Dr King, in opening his address, *aidi that ho came to Mastcrton on a '(mission of vital importance. The world, ho said, had made groat strides during tho low doondey, in almost ■■every branch except the physical •strength of the human body, in which branch it might be said tlv.it there had •been degeneration. The most marked development of d : sonse was in re'gard to the tooth of the present gen•■oration, of whom from 90 to 9o per cent wore more or loss affected in 'this direction. This \va« the greatest possible scourge from a iuviltli point ■of view ,and few people realised tho awful results arising from defective teeth. Many people thought that if tthey procured a set of "artificial teeth -their troubles wore past. But such was :fnr from being the case, and he pointed out that with artificial teeth ninetenths of the jaw power was lost. Toiing people especially suffered ■ in

•qiumemis ways. Their food was improperly chewed, and they, were more liable to raids, sore throats and gener- \ ml ill health, while the "taking-in" or- - igans were also affected, and led to in"digestimv and many other disorders. 'The main cause of all this was an insufficiency of open air treatment, and lack of knowledge on the part of parents., Let mothers rear their children on rational linos and the race -would .become more* healthy, and more physically fit. He hoped' that the educateion of girls on those matters would soon be taken hi hand by the State: , Tn Dunedin, by the means of a system I •which taught mothers bow to care ■properly for their children, infant mortality in that city-had been reduced by Tbalf in the short space of five years. Iff© hoped to see the day arrive when the death rate in New Zealand would "fee reduced to three per cent. (At this ! stage Dr King illustrated his views by / ;meaji6 of lantern 'Slides, which gave onost ©ffectivo pow-cr to his arguments. •One groat cause of infant mortality was the sleeping of infants with par«nts. This practice was directly re-' sponsible for the vast majority of; eases of sickness and ■ultimate death j amongst tho children. Children should Tiave above all things plenty of fresh j air at all times, awl tin's the child did. J mot get while sleeping in. a close and : unhealthy room. For want of open ■air exercise, which is an absolute necessity every day, many women were j ntnable to nurture their offspring for (more than .six months. All kinds of ■ loutdoor exercises tvere to b© encourag■ed. Acold bath, or better .still,- a swim, would always bo found to work much good, as the muscles would gainthe necessary exercise to keep the Jk brain "and the nervous system -in-fit "Condition. ~ Exercises in sunlight were always'to be recommended. In reference to the education of children, Dr King .strongly emphasised the fact that at the present day children, and espeeiall y K irk„ were required to take .-up too much"study of the "cramming mature. This was bound to have a most evil effect on the mental and physical development of tliase concerned. Another important factor was the sending of children to school. ■at too tender an age, which had the .effect of stunting their vitality and - c-rowtli. The inuonce, too, on boys it too much hard study had the effect of arresting their growth. The body, Dr King continued, should be kept, 'free from all substance* that would in | iany way injure the organs. Dealing ■with the upbringing of babies, the , speaker said that it was, lamentable j •tho ignorance displayed by mothers, I +he direct result of which was that the children were reared in deformed I ~ and half -nourished state, not because 'the parents, did not. wish otherwise, j Ibut simply because the greatest curse J (was the using of a "dummy" for baby.. The effects of this practice were most dangerous in every way, as the mouth structure becamo deformed land unable to perform its proper function. The "dummy" was also an evil I 'from a microbe point of view. Dr King dealt in a most exhaustive 'and instructive manner with the numerous dangers of rearing children in an improper fashion, showing the ■evil wrought by want of pure air. (improper food and clothing, and <-• iplained in a comprehensive fashion the proper and matural methods of bringing up children. The numerous illustrations gnve to tho audience many striking examples of the result of ignorance on the part of mothers in .rearing their children. Dr King concluded ny urging and appealing "to those present to strito do something to improve the "by working on the line* suggested in b:-s lecture.

.A hearty vote or thanks to Dr King •(terminated' the meeting.