El cuerpo y la fatiga: Infancia e higiene escolar a comienzos del siglo XX en Colombia

How was the concept of fatigue used in Colombian medicine at the beginning of the 20th century? What specific purposes did this theory serve, and how was it employed to address the social and economic problems of the time? This paper attempts to answer those questions. It is proposed that the fatigue theory had its counterpart in the degeneration theory. During the second decade of the 20th century, this theory was used by Colombian hygienists to describe the socio-racial problems of the Colombian population and to suggest public health policies that aimed at creating a healthy and vigorous population. Some institutional preventive measures were school hygiene, physical education, games, and sports.