[Report 1930] / Medical Officer of Health, Darlington County Borough.
- Darlington (England). County Borough Council.
- Date:
- 1930
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1930] / Medical Officer of Health, Darlington County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![From a study of above table it will be noticed that 13% o; the children examined at routine medical inspection were suffering, from “subnormal” nutrition, 1.2% from malnutrition, am 1.6% were overweight. If each age group is taken separately* it will be observed that the best nutrition occurs amongst the entrants, while the 12 and 13 grouj) shows almost three times the number of subnormal and malnutrition cases. This is a very striking diflerence and is corroborated by the observations o:j the Medical Officer on nutrition at medical inspection. What is the relation of sex to the question of poor nutrition ‘ In the three age groups the largest number of subnormal ancj malnutrition cases occurred amongst the girls, roughly 60^; girls to 40% boys. .Vs a certain ])roportion of the 12 and 13 year old children attended the Secondary Schools a comparison of the nutritioi- in the Elementary and Secondary Schools was made. Out of 45.' attending Secondary Schools 1.3% suffered from malnutritioi and 19% were of subnormal nutrition. Of 692 Elementar children 2.5% suffered from malnutrition and 19.7% were sub normal. The standard of nutrition was lower, therefore, amonp the Elementarv children. It is onlv fair, however, to state tha; “Scholarship” children were transferred to Secondary School by the age of 12 years, and it is well known that the standard o nutrition is lower amongst mentally retarded children. So far nothing has been said of the overweight child. Thi type of child frequently escapes notice, but it should be re membered that quite a large proportion are unhealth}’, requirin'! medical observation and frequently treatment. What are the factors predisposing to the lowering of nutritio| in the child ? In order to discover a cause the defects occurrini among the subnormal and malnutrition cases were studiec> It was found that 65% of those 5 and 6 year old children wer' suffering from defects detrimental to health. Tonsils an adenoids with their sequekc bronchial catarrh and enlargemeii of cervical glands accounted for almost three-fourths ; ricket: defective teeth and thread worms, etc., for the remainder. I' the 7 and 8 years group 58% had defects similar to those foun I in the first group only tonsils and adenoids formed a snialk proportion, in the 12 and 13 year group only 36^0 had defect similar to those in the other groups with the addition of aniemu| chorea, rheumatism and nervous instability. It will thiij be seen that as the age ad\^anced the number of defect;](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29149125_0132.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
