It will help to give a picture of food values if, before going further, we note how much it takes of some of the common foods to make a given amount of food value, say 100 calories. It is surprising in how many cases the ordinary amount of food served at table happens to contain about 100 calories. We find 100 calories in a small lamb chop (weighing about an ounce); in a large egg (about 2 ounces); in a small side-dish of baked beans (about 3 ounces); in 1½ cubic inches of cheese (about an ounce); in an ordinary side-dish of sweet corn (about 3½ ounces); in one large-sized potato (if baked, about 3 ounces; if boiled, about 4 ounces); in an ordinary thick slice of bread (about 1½ ounces); in one shredded wheat biscuit (about an ounce); in a very large dish of oatmeal (about 6 ounces); in a small piece of sponge-cake (about an ounce); in a third of an ordinary piece of pie (about 1½ ounces); in three teaspoonfuls or 1½ lumps of sugar (about 1 ounce); in a dozen peanuts (about ⅔ of an ounce); in eight pecans (about ½ an ounce); in four prunes (about 1 ounce); in two apples (about 7 ounces); in a large banana (about 4 ounces) in half a cantaloup (about 9 ounces); in seven olives (about 1½ ounces); in a very large orange (about 10 ounces); in an ordinary pat of butter (about ½ an ounce); in a quarter of a glass of cream (about 2 ounces); in a small glass of milk (about 5 ounces). (See [Supplementary Notes] for “[Table of Food Values].”)
The ordinary sedentary man needs about 2,500 calories per day. But the larger the person (provided the bulk is due to muscle and active tissue and not to fat) or the more muscular the work he does, the more food he needs. It has been found that the number and activity of cells forming the organs and muscles and blood affect the food requirement.
Favorable Weight
Life insurance experience has clearly shown that weight, especially in relation to age, is an important factor in influencing longevity.
Except in the earlier ages of life, overweight (reckoned relatively to the average for that age) is a more unfavorable condition, in its influence on longevity, than underweight.
The question of whether an individual is really underweight or overweight can not be determined solely by the life insurance tables. (See [Supplementary Notes], “[Influence of Build on Longevity].”) Some types who are of average weight according to the table, may be either underweight or overweight when considered with regard to their framework and general physical structure. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that notwithstanding the effort of life insurance companies to carefully select the favorable types of overweight and underweight, the mortality experience on youthful underweights has been unfavorable, and the mortality experience on middle aged and elderly overweights has been decidedly unfavorable. The lowest mortality is found among those who average, as a group, a few pounds over the average weight before age 35, and a few pounds under the average weight after age 35. That is, after the age of 35, overweight is associated with an increasingly high death rate, and at middle life it becomes a real menace to health, either by reason of its mere presence as a physical handicap or because of the faulty living habits that are often responsible for its development.
Overweight
If there is a family tendency to overweight, one should begin early to form habits that will check this tendency. If considerable overweight is already present, caution is necessary in bringing about a reduction. Barring actual disease, this can usually be done without drugs if the person will be persevering and faithful to a certain regime.
Constant vigilance is necessary, yet it is worth while when one considers the inconvenience as well as the menace of obesity.
After the age of 35, 15 to 20 pounds over the average weight should prompt one to take careful measures for reducing weight. Habits should be formed that will keep the weight down automatically, instead of relying upon intermittent attempts that are more than likely to fail. No matter how well one feels, one should take steps to keep out of the class that life insurance companies have found to be undesirable as risks.