Corpulence and its treatment on physiological principles / by Wilhelm Ebstein.

  • Ebstein, Wilhelm, 1836-1912.
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Corpulence and its treatment on physiological principles / by Wilhelm Ebstein. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    28/104 (page 16)
    ^0 INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL HABITS. Now when it is asked under what- circum- stances, on what etiological grounds these abundant fatty deposits are developed, it is notorious that they are observed more commonly in certain well-defined classes of human beings (4). We know that fat accu- mulates abnormally in people accustomed to a rich and unstinted diet, as well as to frequent and copious alcoholic drinks, while on the other hand exempt from bodily or mental exertion. A power- ful factor is also a peaceful existence unruffled by violent emotions or passions, and it is certainly a moot question whether a phlegmatic temperament be the cause rather than the result of an abundant deposit of fat. The last mentioned elements, super- induced by the hard struggle for existence, are na- turally more operative with men than with women. At the same time if men often seek in a greater partiality for spirituous liquors a compensation for the inequalities and disadvantages imposed by fate upon them as compared with the opposite sex, this is not the rule, and generally speaking rather of relatively rare occurrence amongst the better classes. From these inquiries however we arrive at least at what would appear to be the main reason why, under otherwise like conditions of existence, women in the higher circles seem more inclined than men to accumulate fat. St. Germain attributed the great predisposition of women to embonpoint exclusively to their indolent life, in this respect washerwomen