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46
are 2 months younger than the girls examined in 1939. Thus
we have to deduct from the weight of the 1939 girls, 2 months'
weight, i.e., one pound. Their true weight is 54 lbs. compared
with 54¼ lbs. of the girls in 1943-44. A confirmation that I am
justified in deducting half a pound for each month is supported
by the following fact. The intermediate girls examined in 1938
are 6 months younger than those in 1939. Therefore they weigh
3 lbs. less (6 times half a pound). Thus, a true comparison of
the girls in 1939 with the girls in 1938 and in 1943-44, is only
possible by considering the age factor. The difference in age
is also the cause for the higher proportion in the lower group
of the girls, Table II examined in 1943-44.
Although we should expect, owing to the difference in age
of 2 months, less intermediate children over-weight, i.e., more
than 66 lbs. in 1943-44, the number of these cases is about the
same as in the pre-war year. (See Table IV.)