Jinsh

The absorption of food stuffs the caloric content which exceeds that of the energy utilized by the body results in the storage of the excess as fat. The availability of ample supplies of food, habit, gourmanderie, gluttony, and other factors lead to over nutrition, a common consequence of modern life. The available statistical data indicate that the extra metabolic activity associated with the accumulation and sustenance of fatty tissue and the burden on the circulation involved in its vascularization act adversely in so far as the life span is concerned; exert deleterious effects, particularly in cardiovascular disease and diabetes; and may play a part, perhaps, in accelerating such degenerative changes as atherosclerosis.

A relatively short period of chorine deficiency or the administration of excessive amounts of sodium chloride to young rats results in the development of hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and the questions has been raised as to whether comparable conditions might induce a similar condition might induce a similar condition in the human.

The frequency with which deposits of cholesterol are observed in diabetes, renal disease, hypothyroidism, and liver disease has focused attention on this normal constituent of the diet as a possible contributor to the abnormalities noted in these conditions, and particularly as a cause of atherosclerosis. In support of this supposition is the experimental induction of atherosclerotic lesion in rabbits, chicks, and cubes monkey, hamsters, and guinea pigs when fed diets which cause hypercholesterolemia. In dogs, similar lesion may be induced when such feedings are associated with the administration of an antithyridal drug. On the other hand, since the body normally forms cholesterol in large amounts from the acetate derived from fat and carbohydrate , one might question whether variation in the exogenous supply of this substance play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The observed deposition of cholesterol in atherosclerosis may reflect an intrinsic defect n the aging or diseased vessel rather than be a result of the ingestion of cholesterol or other lipids in excessive amounts. The beneficent effect of caloric restriction in the management of cardiac disease and diabetes is more firmly established.