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99
Findings at Medical Inspections.
These are reported in detail in the appendix.
(a) Malnutrition. Table IIb (page 139).
This table must be taken with some reserve.
As I have previously stated, since there are varieties
of opinion as to what constitutes normal physique, and
as there is no physiological standard of what constitutes
the normal, the table is merely an indication of the
physical fitness of the child as it appears to the medical
examiner. There are so many factors, the least of which
is, in my opinion, underfeeding. The environmental
factor, the family constitution and inherent physique
must be obliterated before the suspected cause of nialnutrition
can be limited to underfeeding. It is true also
that it is not the quantitv of food, but the unsuitability
of food to which malnutrition is due. It is the
experience of most of us also that the financial circumstances
of the parent is a factor which might almost be
neglected in the consideration of an adequate nourisliment.
The delayed investigation into the nutritional
state of children in Bromley should bring to light some
important factors in this question, which is causing so
many of us administrative anxiety. However, referring
to Table lib, only 15 out of 1,777 children examined
showed a nutrition as bad, while 178 children showed
nutrition below the so-called normal.
The provision of a mid-day meal at school is helpful
and is to be encouraged, but I am not satisfied in my
own mind that I would advise the Education Authority
to provide these meals free of cost to the " necessitous
parents. Parents in Bromley prefer to keep their individual
independence, and I believe would desire to pay
for what is considerably more valuable to them than the
present charge of 1s. 3d. per week.
the scheme for the distribution of milk in schools
continues to function without complications, though,
while the percentage of children taking milk remains at
its present fairly low level, one cannot say that full use
is made of the service. It must, however, not be overlooked
that milk is anathema to something like 5 per
cent. of children, and there is a further unknown per-