Understanding yourself : the mental hygiene of personality / by Ernest R. Groves.

  • Ernest R. Groves
Date:
[1935]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Understanding yourself : the mental hygiene of personality / by Ernest R. Groves. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    discover whether each has a special liability to certain dis¬ eases. One of these is the attempt to correlate the length of the intestine with the body form and with the tendency toward certain diseases. One American authority, who has been interested in finding whether there is any propensity toward definite diseases associated with body shape and measurements, has developed in his medical instruction what is known as the Constitution Clinic. Dr. George Draper, in his work at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, has made special effort to stimulate the observation of his students. He teaches them to give keen attention to the physical ap¬ pearance and body structure of the sick patient. Careful measurements have convinced him that different types of body architecture carry a tendency toward certain diseases rather than others. He trains his men to recognize in any patient the body evidences that point to the “Achilles heel” of that particular physique. Such a diagnostic method emphasizes the significance of the skeleton in the same way that interest in facial beauty draws attention to the shape of the skull upon which the beauty has to be molded. Recently a student of diet has come forth with the sen¬ sible suggestion that, since there are three distinguishable types of body formation, there is need of recognizing these essential differences between people in planning a diet for health and efficiency.* Her classification is an adaptation of the ancient one of Hippocrates. She divides the population * Bogert, L. J., Diet and Personality. [30]