Obesity circa 1924

For Christmas this year I was given a unique gift.  A book which is called The Royal Road to Health or the secret of Health Without Drugs.  The author is Chas. A. Tuyell, M.D., and the book was published in 1924. 

Here is his definition of obesity:

The condition of the body, to which nosologists have applied this term, is that of general engorgement, or over-fullness, and is the result of excessive eating, or imperfect depuration, or both.  Over-eating and inactivity are the chief producing causes.  It is the especial prerogative of children to be fat, but when too great an accumulation comes, with advancing years, it brings discomforts, disadvantags, and often times fatal diseases, among which are Apoplexy, Fatty Liver, Bright's Disease and Fatty Heart.

The Doctor recommends as much exercise as possible without fatigue.  A brisk three-mile walk daily will do wonders in reducing weight, especially if you perspire freely.  Drink a pint of hot water an hour before each meal and half an hour before retiring, to wash the sour ferments and bile from the stomach before eating and sleeping.  Live principally on roast or broiled meat, fish, poultry or game, boiled rice, green vegetables, and whole-wheat bread.