London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Vitamin capsules are supplied daily free of charge to pupils recommended for them by
the school medical officer. Other children may have them at the request of their parents,
on payment of 1s. a term.
In October, 1955, meals were being produced at 600 kitchens (including seven
central kitchens) and served to children at 957 separate premises. During the course
of the year some 4l½ million meals were served to children and teachers and the output
of mid-day dinners to children reached a record daily figure of 224,000.
The school meals service aims at concentrating the maximum food value into the quantity of food a child is willing to eat, and the following standards have been set:
| Age group | Minimum number of calories |
|---|---|
| (i) Under 7 years | 500 |
| (ii) 7 to 11 years | 650 |
| (iii) Over 11 years | 800 |
Meals for children are planned to contain, as a minimum, 20 grammes of protein,
25 grammes of fat and 400 milligrammes of calcium. The diet of the children taking
meals was under the supervision of the Council's Honorary Nutritional Consultant,
Dr. T. S. Macrae, O.B.E., D.Sc. To provide a check on the standards of meals served,
random samples were analysed from time to time by the Council's Scientific Adviser
(see page 60).
Vision
All school pupils, other than entrant infants, have their distant visual acuity tested by
the school nurse by means of Snellen test charts, those pupils who have them wearing
their spectacles for the test. The test is carried out at the time of the routine age group
general medical inspection and, in cases of sub-normal vision, the result of the test is
checked by the school doctor. The charts used by the Council are double sided, having
lower case script lettering on one side and plain block capitals, without serifs, on the
other, as it has been found that children have less difficulty with such types of letters
than with the classical Snellen types.
The following table gives the results of such vision tests carried out during 1955:
| Visal acuity (with glasses, if worn) | Percentage referred for treatment | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/6 % | 6/9 % | 6/12 or worse % | % wearing glasses | Total | Already wearing glasses | Not wearing glasses | ||
| 7 year old | Boys | 79.4 | 13.7 | 6.9 | 3.0 | 6.4 | 0.6 | 5.8 |
| Girls | 78.5 | 14.4 | 7.1 | 3.3 | 6.8 | 0.7 | 6.1 | |
| 11 year old | Boys | 83.5 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 5.0 |
| Girls | 80.1 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 2.6 | 6.3 | |
| Leavers | Boys | 81.9 | 8.5 | 9.6 | 11.4 | 8.2 | 3.4 | 4.8 |
| Girls | 78.4 | 10.6 | 11.0 | 13.1 | 10.5 | 4.2 | 6.3 | |
| Other ages | Boys | 80.6 | 10.3 | 9.1 | 7.4 | 8.8 | 2.3 | 6.5 |
| Girls | 78.8 | 11.2 | 10.0 | 9.2 | 9.7 | 2.8 | 6.9 | |
Of those referred tor treatment of detective vision the proportion who were already
wearing spectacles rose from about one.tenth at age seven to two.fifths at age 15.
The higher total percentages of children referred for treatment at older ages was thus
almost wholly due to cases needing natural adjustment of refraction correction with
the passage of time.
In 1955, the incidence of defective vision and the precentage of pupils referred for
treatment defective vision remained fairly stable compared with the preceding years.
As experienced over many years, the recorded incidence of defective vision was greater
among girls than boys.
106