London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Bethnal Green 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bethnal Green Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
A vital feature of the enquiry is the comparison of the actual expenditure with the minimum expenditure embodied in the British Medical Association's report on " Nutrition " issued in 1933. The following figures will give this comparison at a glance.
| Bethnal Green families on milk grants—net income per head after deducting rent | Food expenditure, per man-unit | Compared with B.M.A. minimum per man-unit (1933 figures, 5/10J adjusted to July, 1937, food prices. 7/1)* |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5/— | 4/11 | — 2/2 |
| 5/— to 6/3 | 5/8 | — 1/5 |
| 6/3 to 7/6 | 6/1 | — 1/– |
| 7/6 to 10/- | 6/4 | — –/9 |
| 10/-and over | 7/3 | — –/2 |
Every group except the last is seen to be under the British
Medical Association's scale. These figures are strikingly represented
in a graph which Mr. Lloyd has drawn on the basis of this
comparison.
Taking the comparison of the results of the enquiry with the
British Medical Association's minimum scale a little more into
detail, there will be seen from Table B rather more clearly those
respects in which the dietary of the Bethnal Green families
differ from that recognised by the British Medical Association.
There are serious deficiencies in the protein, carbohydrate and
fresh food groups while in no group is there any substantial
countervailing increase over the British Medical Association's
standard. Not only is the expenditure on meat, bacon and cheese
much lower, but other sources of protein and fat such as milk|
and butter are also very low. The fat allowance is only maintained
through the substitution of margarine for butter. In
the vegetables and fruit group, while comparison with individual
items is difficult owing to variation in classification, it is clear that
the poorer Bethnal Green families are gravely below the British
Medical Association's minimum.
Table B is based on the average of all the income groups
coming within the scope of the enquiry and therefore does not
show the full extent of the comparison with the British Medical
Association's standard of the very lowest income group.
Table A and the comments thereon have already sufficiently
emphasised the point that the size of the family income per head
determines the adequacy of the principal constituents of a sound
dietary.
| See note on p. 121.