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18
in them and in the body, and cholesterol is present in high degree in
most fat foods and in dairy produce, particularly the yolks of eggs.
Nevertheless, it is true to say that the effect of dietary cholesterol on the
condition of the arteries is still highly obscure, and much more research
work requires to be done on the subject. At present it is perhaps
desirable only to point out that there may well be an association between
a high dietary cholesterol and a high incidence of heart disease and
individuals may feel that they should be sparing in the amount of eggs
(particularly the yolks), butter, and fat food generally, which they
consume. Overweight in itself has been known for many years to be
associated with degeneration of the heart and blood vessels. It will be
interesting to see if the derationing of butter and the increased
availability of eggs has any effect on the incidence of coronary heart
disease, though perhaps owing to economic considerations the derationing—of
butter anyhow—may not have much effect on
consumption. Margarine contains a relatively negligible quantity of
cholesterol — about one-seventh that of butter.
Deaths under age 65
The last two paragraphs, lung cancer and coronary disease, deal
with two conditions which affect relatively younger persons. A reference
to column 5 of table 12 on pages 20 and 21, will show how great has
been the decrease in the deaths of youngish people over the years, but
much scope for improvement remains. Death under the age of 65 is,
apart from personal and family distress, economically serious to the
nation as it represents so many man-years of productive labour wasted.
Clearly, therefore, the diseases which kill below that age should be in
the forefront of any concerted attack designed to improve the public
health. The following table indicates the main enemies; they are
formidable, but even now some of them would appear to be giving
ground, or to be revealing different ways by which they may be attacked.