~Dietetic Treatment.~--The best results are obtained by reducing the size of the meals and avoiding the purin-bearing foods as far as possible. Eggs are purin-free and may be substituted for much of the meat in the diet. In chronic gout it is impossible to eliminate meat entirely from the diet, but the quantity can be materially reduced and that which is eaten may be rendered less harmful if it is boiled instead of roasted or broiled, as in this way much of the purin is dissolved out. Highly spiced and seasoned foods, rich gravies, etc., are apt to cause an acute attack and should be omitted. Excesses of all kinds must be avoided to enable the patient to live a fairly comfortable life, free from frequent painful attacks of gout. OBESITY ~Causes.~--Heredity, overeating, unbalanced diet, chronic alcoholism, and disturbed metabolism, as manifested in gout and other pathological conditions. ~Cures~ are more or less of a risk, except when undertaken upon the advice and under the care of a competent physician. As a rule they are too strenuous to be carried out alone and are of no good unless persisted in. Among the best known obesity cures may be mentioned those formulated by Banting, Oertel and Ebstein. Most physicians have their own methods of treating obesity, but all are based primarily on diet and exercise. ~Food~ is the chief cause of obesity and since some foods are more readily converted into adipose tissue than others, it is necessary to understand the behavior and functions of the various food combinations in the body before it is possible to say which are the offending articles of diet. ~Water~ has no fattening properties of its own. This is proved by a glance at its chemical composition, but as it acts as a distributor and carrier of food to the various parts of the body and since the bulk of all the secretions is composed of water and every tissue in the body stores this fluid, thus adding to the weight, a consideration of the intake of water for obesity patients is most essential. ~Appetite~ requires attention. The majority of obese patients eat more than their energy output calls for, consequently it is necessary to curb the appetite and increase the energy output in order to utilize the material on hand in the form of adipose tissue. ~Exercise~ is absolutely essential in order to force the body to burn up its surplus fat as fuel. The best form of exercise is that which is taken out of doors. The well-worked muscle is heavier than one which is unaccustomed to exercise. The latter is infiltrated with fat and weighs less than muscular tissue, but a muscular body can endure more than one which is covered with adipose tissue. ~The Heart~ of obese patients becomes more or less affected as obesity advances and it becomes absolutely necessary in many cases to get rid of some of the surplus fat in order that the patient may live. This is best accomplished by dietetic treatment.