Your Body At Its Best Ch 5

It is interesting to note that in a study made a few years ago by Lloyd C. Appleton, a specialist in the office of physical education at the U. S. Military Academy, and reported in U. S. News and World Report of August 2, 1957, it was found that there is a direct relationship between physical ability and leadership ability. In this study the cadets were classified into five groups on the basis of their "physical aptitude" scores at the time they entered the academy. Of those in the group who were rated lowest in physical ability, 51 percent "busted out" - that is, failed to complete the four-year course at West Point. In the group that rated highest in physical ability, only 24 percent failed to graduate. The highest percentage of men with leadership ability was found in the group that had the most physical ability - 34.5 percent received a "high leadership rating." In the group with the least physical ability, only 8 percent received this rating. In academic achievement the low-ranking group in physical ability had the largest percentage of failures.

Mr. Appleton concludes: "Evidence appears to imply that extensive physical activity is an essential requirement in the boyhood experiences of the candidates for attaining the social and emotional, as well as physical, growth to be able to withstand the strain and rigors of the cadet program."

But health is not only of vital importance to the nation in providing physically fit men for our military forces in time of war, but World War II made it crystal clear that the health of our home-front was equally paramount in the international race of industrial production. Each day lost from illness by individual workers in American war industries meant that much less production of tanks, airplanes, warships and all the myriad supplies needed for modern war. Despite America's tremendous food resources and medical facilities, illness took a surprising toll of production efficiency. According to a 1941 war-time survey, made by the American Institute of Public Opinion, the following important facts came to light:

1. Throughout the  United  States  as  a whole,  an estimated 24 million man-days of work were lost because of illness in the four-week period November 24 to December 20,  1941.   This was in spite of the fact that the November-December period is normally a period when the nation's health and vitality exceeds the average for the year.

2. In industries connected directly or indirectly with war production, approximately 3,200,000 man-days of work were lost from illness in the same period.

3. The time lost from illness in war industries or war- connected industries would, if it were concentrated entirely on the building of war implements, be equivalent to the time required for the actual building of two heavy cruisers, or 448 medium bombers, or 3,200 light tanks.

• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 1
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 2
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 3
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 4
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 6
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 7
• Your Body At It's Best - Ch 8