The Man of Great Chest Expansion
¶ The largest part of this man's body is around the chest. (See Chart 3) His chest is high for the reason that he has larger lungs than the average.
Advantages of a High Chest
¶ The man of unusual chest-expansion has one great physical asset. The person who breathes deeply has a decided advantage over the man who breathes deficiently. The lungs form the bellows or air-supply for the body's engine, the heart, and with a deficient supply of air the heart does deficient work. Efficient breathing is easy only to the man of large lungs, and only the high chested have large lungs.
Long-Waisted People
¶ A long waist is another thoracic sign, for it is a natural result of the extra house-room required by the large lungs and heart. It is easily detected in both men and women. (See Chart 3)
If you are a close observer you have noticed that some people appear to have a waist line much lower than others; that the belt line dividing the upper part of the body from the lower is proportionately much nearer the floor in some than in others of the same height.
Passing of the "Wasp Waist"
¶ The "straight-up-and-down" lines of today's woman and the slimpsy shoulder-to-heel garments she wears have obliterated her waistline, but you will recall how differently the old "wasp waist" fashions of a score of years ago betrayed the secrets of the short and long waist.
The eighteen-inch belt, of which we were so falsely proud in 1900, told unmistakable facts about milady's thoracic development.