PHYSICAL FITNESS WORK AT DARTMOUTH 1925-26

Medical Consultant in Nutrition and Physical Fitness at Dartmouth College

This is the fourth in a series of reports on physical fitness work at Dartmouth College. The earlier articles may be found in the DARTMOUTH ALUMNI MAGAZINE for February, May, and November, 1925.

This and the preceding reports on Physical Fitness at Dartmouth may seem to be concerned chiefly with gains in weight. It should be borne in mind that an increase in weight of itself may be of small significance were it not for the fact that any appreciable gain in weight can be brought about only by fundamental changes in health habits and then only provided the individual is physically "free to gain." Gain in weight is, then, a measure of successful effort! Its real significance needs to be interpreted in terms of increased Health Intelligence.

Last year we were able to report that those freshmen who were enrolled in physical fitness classes had made gains at the rate of 24 pounds a year for each man during the period of training. This year a larger number have worked on the program for longer terms and with an average gain at the rate of 28pounds a year. What is of even more importance than this is evidence that the influence of this training program has affected the class as a whole to a greater extent than we had hoped at this stage of the work. This is shown in a number of ways, including the following:

(1) 94 applicants for admission who were 10% or more underweight for height were notified in April, 1925, of their condition and given definite advice as to the means to be used to bring themselves up to a better standard before entering college. By September these 94 men had reduced their total underweight of 2112 pounds by 759 pounds and their average percentage of underweight had gone down from 13% to 8%.

(2) The class entering in 1924 showed 30% who were in the danger zone, while the class entered last Fall—in 1925 —had only 20% in this group. More than half of this improvement was due to 31 of the men referred to in (1) who had brought themselves up to standard before college opened.

(3) The stripped weighings and measuring made in the spring by the Department of Physical Education showed that this percentage of more serious underweight had been reduced during the winter from 20% to 14%.

(4) Thus far we have been dealing only with men at the lower end of the scale of physical fitness. A comparison of the figures in the group made up of those who were underweight but less than 7% showed another reduction of 5% since entering college. The net gain of 10% before entrance and 11% from fall to spring had brought it about that 21% more of the class were in the safety weight zone toward the end of the college year than we have found to be the case in groups in which no effort is made to make use of the physical fitness program.

(5) Last year an analysis of the individual records of all freshmen indicated that those who were not in our training groups made very little change in weight during the college year. The only cases of marked increase were among the obese for whom the extra weight was an added handicap. At that stage of the work this was a condition to be expected but it would have been a disappointment to have found that the influence of our work had not extended by this time to the class as a whole. It is gratifying to find this year that there has been marked gain all along the line averaging a pound and a half for each freshman not coming immediately under our program.

(6) Apart from the effect of the use of the program by the physical fitness classes and by athletes in the college the improvement noted under (5) is due largely to a highly desirable change that is coming about in standards and ideals of physical fitness. This is the increasing acceptance of "optimum" instead of "average" weight as the basis of attainment Many men who are already in the borderline or safety weight zones come in for instructions which enable them to bring themselves up to a weight allowing more margin against the casualties of college life. A striking instance of this precaution appeared in a freshman who saw by our previous reports that grouped examinations cause more loss of weight than any other matter within the control of the college authorities, so that he went into special training before the examinations were held and came out at the end of the period with a loss of the three pounds which he'had gained for this purpose!

It must not be inferred from these indications of progress that there does not remain a large amount of work still to be done in order that the students at Dartmouth College should have available for scholastic and extra-curricular activities a reasonable proportion of the physical strength and vigor which rightly belong to them. Before going on to the narrative of the year's work it may be well to summarize the chief considerations which require attention in order to insure further advance.

(1) Systematic weighing and measuring of all students should be made at the beginning and near the close of the college year.

(2) The follow-up system for candidates for admission found to be underweight should be made more efficient, so that at least all those who are under average weight shall be fully advised in the spring of their condition and the means of improving it while those who fail to make reasonable progress early in the year shall be aided in their appreciation of the importance of the problem to be dealt with.

(3) Further education is needed of family physicians and parents with reference to the seriousness of certain physical defects especially naso-pharyngeal obstructions. No other factor blocks progress to an equal extent in a number of the more serious cases.

(4) Possibly no aspect of the problem deserves more careful study than that which has to do with what we have come to call the "social" defects of college life. Each year and in every college group with which we are concerned we find that such matters as grouped examinations, the selection and initiation of candidates for fraternities, the irregularities and indulgences of vacations and "big games" and the excessive competition in connection with athletics and other extra-curricular interests cause not only temporary loss but throw many men off the track with reference to matters of health, studies and success in the very activities for which these sacrifices are made. Our object is through increased "fitness" to make possible greater achievement and enjoyment than is now secured and the next step is to get more adequate machinery and controls with reference to these social concerns.

The pre-college physical fitness program is one of the most significant developments of our work. The 94 men to whom reference has been made were advised in April, 1925, to undertake measures which would bring them into "fit" condition before college opened, when a third were found to have moved out of the danger weight zone. Their average underweight had been reduced from 13% to 8% and 759 of the 2112 pounds lacking had been gained. Seventy of the men went to work on the physical fitness program as soon as they had entered college and despite the fact that they had already made their larger initial gains they averaged gain for the time they were in training at the rate of 24 pounds a year. In May 43 of the 94 were above average weight for height and 33 others were lacking but a few pounds of that attainment. Only two of the 94 were apparently indifferent to the opportunity and these men are found from the gymnasium measurements to have gained five pounds each during the college year.

Even the 17 of the 94 who were still in the danger zone at the end of the year when studied, show some of the best gains accomplished in the classes. Here, for instance, is a man suffering from the after effects of infantile paralysis who was lacking 31 pounds—a third of his actual weight- He gained four pounds before entering college and eight pounds during the year. He is still nearly 20% below par, yet is working this summer to bring himself up to the weight he needs. Another man was 20 pounds shortgained a quarter of his shortage before entering college and a half of it from September to May. Despite working for his board he secured marks in his studies of 2.2 for the first semester and 2.4 for the second. A third gained eight pounds by September out of nearly forty he was lacking and twelve more in twenty weeks of class training. He was still short more than twenty-five pounds this spring yet he had made grades of 3.1 and 3.0. Others who are still in the danger weight zone have put in very hard work at tennis, track, and cabin and trail, meeting requirements that would have been heavy for a man in prime condition.

The work of the physical fitness classes has been described in detail in earlier articles. There have been 202 freshmen and 69 upper classmen who have come to the office for consultation this year. Of these 163 have followed the program for periods of various lengths averaging 18 weeks and amounting to 2911 weeks in all. They have gained about half a pound a week which added to the 759 pounds made by the prospective freshmen makes a total of 2310 pounds of added weight. Our instructor in nutrition has held nearly two thousand conferences and over a hundred special conferences have been given by members of the medical staff. The rate of gain for the -time under care has averaged for each man in the freshman group 2Sy2 pounds and for upper classmen and freshmen more than 29 pounds a year.

An interesting opportunity for comparison was afforded by the organization of a class in another college in which some of our methods were used. Many of the conditions were very favorable but the failure to hold firmly to fundamental principles resulted in an average gain of less than half that made by the Dartmouth men.

The following notes taken from the class records suggest many of the problems which require consideration in bringing the various factors involved into cooperative action.

'"A man with especially bad tonsils working at Commons—a very light eater. While preparing for debate he had lost 7½ pounds in 5 weeks. Despite his condition he was able to gain 10 pounds in six weeks. During this time his average daily calories went up from 2270 to 3500." "Neglected mid-morning lunches and lost two pounds." "First time on horseback—rode 2 hours and lost four pounds." "Drove car to Florida in five days had an accident—lost five pounds." "Christmas holidays—up to dances everv night—irregular breakfasts lost three pounds." "Extra lacrosse—lost 7y2 pounds in three weeks." ".Lost eight pounds, while in the Hospital with measles." "Losing so badly that parents were sent for—worry—entered class and gained pounds in four weeks." "Left Commons to take meals elsewhere and lost two pounds in a week." "Rode in open car 28 hours—six dances—lost 4½ pounds." "Over-active, many colds, late hours, excessive tobacco—when he settled down gained 5 pounds in three weeks." "Omitted breakfast—gained 63/4 pounds when resumed." "Worked nights during vacationsaved money by eating light— lost five pounds in three weeks." "Lost five pounds during midyear examinations." "Extra lacrosse—bad cold—lost five pounds in a week." "Took extra rest after exercisegained three pounds in a week." "Folks in town—no gain." "Midyear examinations—lost 5y2 pounds." "Learned to eat fast at camp." "Four days' hike fifty miles lost two pounds—later 100 miles and gained." "Never regained grip after a lossof seven pounds beginning at Christmas." "Christian Science mother called for conference—her boy is 'all right yet he is frail, has diseased tonsils, has bad effects from measles lost four pounds in three weeks." "Glee Club trips—lost 19 pounds in all." "Gained six pounds, then went out for swimming and made no gains in . 12 weeks." "Lost seven pounds during Dartmouth competition." "Dropped early morning work (delivering Dartmouth)—gained four pounds in two weeks." There were 24 freshmen in the danger weight zone and 96 borderline cases who were not directly reached by the pre-college work or by the physical fitness class- es. The following table shows the status of these and other men at the end of the year: Physical fitness groups Obese 5 1 10 16 Safety-weight 151 31 87 269 Borderline 72 7 17 96 Underweight 22 0 2 24 250 39 116 405

As has already been reported this group of 405 averaged a gain of one and one half pounds during the college year. The loss of 31 pounds by ten obese men was advantageous but this is offset by the fact that eight men who were orig-inally in the safety-weight zone by a gain of 42 pounds entered the obese class.

Later in the year we shall go more thoroughly into a study of the apparent relationships between college marks and w eight-height status. The lowest average has always heretofore been found in the obese group but this year a separation was made of the underweight men who were in no way directly connected with the physical fitness program and this group made an average of 1.5 while the obese averaged for the year 1.6*. The best averages were made by the underweight men who were in the physical fitness classes and the borderline men not in our classes. This would suggest that many of the men who are underweight are excellent material but that their successes are accomplished at too heavy a cost of health and strength.

The following table shows the status of the Class of 1929 at the end of two weighings as well as a comparison with the initial weighing of the Class of 1928.

Class of 1928 Class of 1929 Physical Fitness Croups % % % Obese (20% and more over average weight) 33 4 Safety-weight zone (Average to 19% above) 42 54 64 Borderline (Less than 7% underwt.) 25 23 18 Danger zone (7% and more underwt.) 30 20 14 100 100 100

There will appear in a later number of this magazine a further report of the findings of health intelligence tests and of physical work with athletes, especially the football team.

Special acknowledgment should be made for this year's work to Miss Joan I. McMullen, Instructor in Nutrition, whose interest and devotion have been of the greatest value. Also to Nathan D. Bugbee, captain of the 1924 Dartmouth Track Team, for assistance in conducting classes.

Chart showing the gain in weight of the three classes in physical fitness

At the Brown game

more who by clirifcal measurmants of large, grouPs including a third or To%\c:r^izM be secured from a

The obese men fell away from 1.7 the first semester to 1.5 the second. only group which did not hold its own or advance in rating during the year.