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
Barking 1912
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Barking]
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45
years and months has not been obtained, hence it would be
unsafe to assume that the children of this age have increased
in stature since 1909, as the figures might indicate. The
significance of this will be easily understood when it is
bered that on an average a child of school age grows 2½ inches
per year.
For "leavers" children in 13th year the figures are as follows:—
| Boys. | Girls. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Height (Metres). | Weight (lbs.) | Height (Metres). | Weight (lbs.) | |
| 1908 | 55.50 | 74.5 | 54.58 | 72.2 |
| 1909 | 56.28 | 77.95 | 56.33 | 75.55 |
| 1910 | 57.31 | 75.12 | 56.6 | 76.03 |
| 1911 | 55.70 | 75.76 | 55.68 | 74.53 |
| 1912 | 56.42 | 74.60 | 56.42 | 75.76 |
The co-operation of the parents with the objects of inspection—namely,
the amelioration of defect, and the enhancement
of the standard of parental care can be judged in two
ways, either by the percentage of mothers attending the examination,
or by the absence of vermin or evidence of such.
The first of these is satisfactory, for we find that taking
all inspections together, on 43.43 per cent. of the occasions the
child was accompanied by some responsible person.
The figures for the previous years are:—
| 1908. | 1905. | 1910. | 1911. | 1912. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44.5 | 36.2 | 35.1 | 38.9 | 43.43 |
So that even after the first curiosity had worn off the
attendance was maintained, and latterly has tended to improve.