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57
The deterioration in nutrition upon which I remarked
last year still continues. Children marked
" below normal " who were 4.3, 8.9 and 11.3 per cent,
in 1934, 1935 and 1936 respectively were 12.1 per
cent, in 1937, double the average percentage for
London. In dental and visual conditions, Bethnal
Green children do not differ materially from those
in the rest of London, although the very big proportion
of toddlers who require dental treatment upon
entrance to school is extremely unsatisfactory. On
the other hand, Bethnal Green mothers retain their
high standard of personal cleanliness of the children.
The paradox continues that in a borough noted
as a centre of the boot and shoe and clothing trades
only 5.3% of the children are well clothed and shod,
compared with 55.6% in London as a whole.