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
Leyton 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Leyton]
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Unfortunately the Leyton " intermediate " group for 1911 is a
year younger than that assessed to-day, so it was possible only to
give the figures for the country as a whole and for Leyton in 1938
in Table II.
TABLE II. INTERMEDIATES.
| Group. | Height (inches). | Weight (pounds). | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys. | Girls. | Boys. | Girls. | |
| Leyton—1938. 8 to 9 years | 49.8 | 49.5 | 59.2 | 57.2 |
| Anthropometric Committee— 1927. 8 to 9 years | 49.2 | 48.9 | 54.8 | 52.6 |
This table also shows an improvement over the averages for
1927.
The most striking gains are, however, recorded in the " Leaver "
group, as is shown in Table III.
TABLE III. LEAVERS.
| Group. | Height (inches). | Weight (pounds). | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys. | Girls. | Boys. | Girls. | |
| Leyton—1911. 13—14 years | 56.5 | 57.9 | 77.9 | 81.5 |
| Anthropometic Committee-1927 | ||||
| 12½—13½ years | 56.2 | 56.9 | 76.5 | 79.0 |
| 13½—14½ | 58.0 | 58.9 | 86.1 | 88.2 |
| Leyton—1938. 12 9/12—13 11/12 | 59.0 | 59.9 | 93.4 | 95.6 |
The ages are not strictly comparable, but there is no doubt
about the increase in height and weight in both the boys and
girls. It could be said that the Leyton schoolboy of to-day leaves
his school 2.5 inches taller and 15.5 pounds heavier than he did in
1911. The girls show a gain only slightly less ; 2 inches taller and
14.1 pounds heavier.