Ocular Tests
Where the vision was normal, or had been corrected by glasses, this was rated as normal; because of the occupations of these women it was practically so.
The most striking points of weakness in the entire class were the bad postures in sitting and standing, consisting of round shoulders, a stooped position, and flabby muscles, 67 per cent.; a deficiency of one-seventh of the normal chest and lung development, accompanied by a deficiency of one-third of the normal chest expansion, 85 per cent.; weak hearts with weak and rapid pulse, subnormal blood-pressure, and anemia in over 50 per cent.; over 66 per cent. had some form of pelvic trouble which was acting to undermine the whole system.
Aside from tuberculosis, life insurance companies reject applicants who fall more than 20 per cent. below the normal standard of weight, and because of this 16 per cent. would have been rejected. The cause of this great loss of weight was due to malnutrition and overwork, and had it seemed practicable to adhere to Professor Meylan’s wise advice that anyone who fell below 7.5 per cent. in any one series of tests, or below 75 per cent. in the general average, 20 per cent. of the entire class would have been turned down.
It must be taken into consideration that these examinations were made during the first week of June, at the end of a hard year’s work; but, making due allowance for this, the results of these examinations have revealed such a subnormal condition of the vital organs of the body as to be appalling even to those of us who have long been familiar with these subjects. In addition to this was the fact that many unsuspected ailments needing immediate attention by physicians or surgeons were discovered in a class of women who considered themselves well.
The Physical Status of the Women of To-day.—The strong presumption that the above statistics are very fairly representative for the average woman of to-day is strongly borne out by data furnished by the absence on account of illness of the teachers of New York, and by corresponding statistics recently published by the Life Extension Institute of New York City.
Statistics compiled during the year 1913-14 showed that more than 20 per cent. of the teachers of the New York public schools were absent at some time on account of illness, and that these absentees averaged 16½ school days. The data obtainable showed four prevalent ailments: diseases of the respiratory organs, 35 per cent.; acute contagious diseases, 16 per cent.; nervous diseases, 15 per cent.; and digestive disorders, 11 per cent. And on the health of the teachers ultimately depends the efficiency of the entire educational system of the country.
The Life Extension Institute of New York, in its tabulation of 2000 examinations of young men and women clerks between the ages of thirty and thirty-five years, showed only 3 per cent. normal, i. e., free from bodily impairments and from habits of life which were leading to such impairments; and showed 59 per cent. sufficiently impaired to justify their recommendation to the definite care of their family physician. “These statistics were compiled at an age when the human being is supposed to be at the very prime of life. The results prove that the majority of young men and young women in New York City begin to die as soon as they are grown up. Deaths due to degenerative diseases have increased 86 per cent. in the past thirty years; this means an increased death-rate whereby between 100,000 and 200,000 lives are lost every year.”
The Reflex Action of Some of These Various Impairments on the Entire Organism.—In the normal erect position of the body the trunk is given its greatest length, the head is held erect, the shoulders thrown back flat against the ribs, the chest is high, and the abdomen flat. (See Plate III, Senegalese woman.)
In the bad postures noted in 67 per cent. of the entire class, of round shoulders with a stooped position and flabby muscles, we note four distinct and prominent factors in the breaking down of the human organism: