Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the PublicBanting, William
Science
Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public
Banting, William
Obesity
I am certainly more sensitive to cold since I have lost the
superabundant fat, but this is remedial by another garment, far more
agreeable and satisfactory. Many of my friends have said, “Oh! you have
done well so far, but take care you don’t go too far!” I fancy such a
circumstance, with such a dietary, very unlikely, if not impossible;
but feeling that I have now nearly attained the right standard of
bulk and weight proportional to my stature and age (between 10 and
11 stone), I should not hesitate to partake of a fattening dietary
occasionally, to preserve the happy standard, if necessary; indeed, I
am allowed to do so by my medical adviser, but I shall always observe a
careful watch upon myself to discover the effect, and act accordingly,
so that, if I choose to spend a day or two with Dives, so to speak, I
must not forget to devote the next to Lazarus.
The remedy may be as old as the hills, as I have since been told, but
its application is of very recent date; and it astonishes me that such
a light should have remained so long unnoticed and hidden, as not to
afford a glimmer to my anxious mind in a search for it during the last
twenty years, even in directions where it might have been expected
to be known. I would rather presume it is a new light, than that it
was purposely hidden merely because the disease of obesity was not
immediately dangerous to existence, nor thought to be worthy of serious
consideration. Little do the faculty imagine the misery and bitterness
to life through the parasite of corpulence or obesity.
I can now confidently say that _quantity_ of diet may be safely left
to the natural appetite; and that it is the _quality_ only, which is
essential to abate and cure corpulence. I stated the quantities of
my own dietary, because it was part of a truthful report, but some
correspondents have doubted whether it should be more or less in their
own cases, a doubt which would be better solved by their own appetite,
or medical adviser. I have heard a graphic remark by a corpulent man,
which may not be inappropriately stated here, _that big houses were not
formed with scanty materials_. This, however, is a poor excuse for self
indulgence in improper food, or for not consulting medical authority.
The approach of corpulence is so gradual that, until it is far
advanced, persons rarely become objects of attention. Many have even
congratulated themselves on their comely appearance, and have not
sought advice or a remedy for what they did not consider an evil, for
an evil I can say most truly it is, when in much excess, to which point
it must, in my opinion arrive, unless obviated by proper means.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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