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15
As the purpose of the inquiry was to endeavour to discover children who might
be suffering from the economic crisis, it was important to make a careful selection
of the schools in which it should take place, and for this reason it was made known
that it was open to anyone to make a suggestion on the grounds that anxiety was
felt as to the nutrition of the children. Various local associations of care committees
directed attention to certain schools, and others were nominated by individuals.
They were situated in all parts of London. On the whole the choice fell upon
schools in definitely poor areas, some with bad housing, but the possibility that the
real stress of circumstances might be most hardly felt by families who would not easily
make their difficulties known was not overlooked, and a proportion of the children
examined were advisedly drawn from rather better localities. Classification is difficult,
but roughly, the schools may be put in the following categories:—
Very poor 5 (open spaces near 3)
Poor 2 ( „ „ 1)
Moderate and mixed 4 ( „ „ 4)
Good on the whole 1 ( „ „ 1)
The ten-year old age group was decided upon because it was well away from any
medical inspection age group and the children would not, therefore, be the subjects of
action arising out of recent medical recommendations. A point was thus definitely
chosen where, if anywhere, there would be children overlooked by the Council's
welfare system. The field covered by the inquiry cannot, consequently, be regarded
as typical of the school population as a whole.
Altogether, 1,281 children in the age group selected were examined of whom
93.5 per cent. were considered well and 6.5 per cent. poorly nourished. Only two
children were grossly ill-nourished. Of eight-year old boys in the same schools
examined by the school doctors during the present year, 7 per cent. were recorded
as being poorly nourished. The findings, therefore, by a skilled observer in an ad hoc
examination of the children compare very well with the results of general school
medical inspection.
There is no great variation in the numbers found to be subnormal in the different
districts.
There is no significant incidence of poorly nourished children corresponding to
social conditions within the limits of this enquiry.

In addition to the 1,281 unselected children in the age group there were examined
all the brothers and sisters attending school of those children found poorly nourished.
These numbered 140 children. As might be expected, the proportion of these children
themselves showing poor nourishment was higher, viz., 20 per cent. The following
conclusions were reached:—
(1) That in view of the fact that the selection of the schools and age group
was made with the direct purpose of discovering the worst, the percentage of
children found to be below par is surprisingly small, and that gross malnutrition
should only have been found in 0.2 per cent. is remarkable.
(2) That poor nutrition appears on the whole to be an idiosyncracy of certain
children, the cause of which is at present uncertain.
(3) That there is no one social or economic contributory cause, but that
certain adverse conditions probably affect certain children—"the weakest goes
to the wall."
B 1