Obesity, or Excessive Corpulence: The Various Causes and the Rational Means of CureDancel, J.-F. (Jean-François)
Science
Obesity, or Excessive Corpulence: The Various Causes and the Rational Means of Cure
Dancel, J.-F. (Jean-François)
Obesity; Weight loss
I have been informed that the gentleman in charge of the stud of King
Charles X. availed himself of the knowledge of this fact, and allowed
only half the usual quantity of water to the horses under his charge,
and that this plan was attended with the most satisfactory results, the
horses being thereby able to endure a greater amount of fatigue than
under a full allowance of water.
To return to the cases of cure. Madam C., a landed proprietor, living
in the Rue de la Concorde, at Paris, went to take the waters in
Germany, in the year 1851. On her return, she made trial of my system,
on account of excessive corpulence. Meeting with the usual success,
she thought it would be of great advantage to a young lady, a friend,
whom she had left behind her at the watering place, and who was then
in bad health. This young person, about twenty-three years of age, was
very fat, and irregular in her menstrual periods. She was of lymphatic
temperament, very pale, and rarely partook of meat: her ordinary food
consisted of vegetables, sweetmeats, cakes and sweet fruits; water was
her principal beverage. At the pressing instance of Madam C., Miss
C. visited Paris, in order to be under my care. After following my
directions for a fortnight, her health was much improved. Her parents
then came to Paris, and I continued in attendance on Miss C. for three
months. At the expiration of this time, she returned with her parents
to Brussels. She had lost much of her fat, and had become regular. She
ate meat principally, both at breakfast and dinner, and drank wine.
I may lay claim, in the case of this young lady, to have effected a
complete change of temperament. With but trifling menstrual flow, and
great pallor, she was gradually progressing to a state of obesity,
which would have proved entirely destructive to health, which would
have ended in a total suppression of the menses, and ultimately in
death. But now, having overcome her obesity, the menstrual flow has
become normal in quantity, the digestive powers have resumed their
functional activity, so that she can partake of meat and wine, and in
every respect her constitution is fully restored. Should she marry,
she will in all probability have a family, which would have been very
doubtful had she married while in the previous obese condition; and
if she have children, her accouchements will be comparatively free of
danger, and her sufferings much less; for it is well known that very
corpulent females have more difficult labours than those of ordinary
_embonpoint_; while the offspring of the latter are at the same time
healthier. The same rule applies in the case of the human female as
with other mammalia; when fat, conception is of more rare occurrence;
and when they do conceive, they are very liable to miscarry. When,
however, they go to the full period of gestation, the progeny of a
very fat mother is almost always lean, and possesses little vitality.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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