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puddings at all or, at best, only patently inadequate ones. There appears, on the other
hand, to be a general appreciation of the importance of green food and fruits in the
child's diet— not now expensive foods— and most children seem to have a sufficiency of
these where they will consent to eat greens or fruit at all. As much as possible was made
of the importance of correct cooking in this connection in the talks that took place at
the clinic. The question of cereals and white bread attracted attention, an almost
universal use of the less valuable brands of prepared cereals being observed in preference
to whole meal, porridge, brown bread, oat cake and similar foods. This might serve
to account for a lack of salts in the diet, particularly where quick cooking and lack of
trouble in serving was a characteristic of the family table, in addition to the compelling
factor of price. Meat appeared to be an even more important factor, by default so to
speak, and the legend of meat doing harm before the age of 7 years was found still to be
abroad. Many children were condemned to beef cubes and beef extracts and to broths
of poor quality where obviously meat itself could have been supplied. The consequent
loss of protein, certain salts and certain vitamins was likely to be significant in a diet
where fresh milk did not figure largely to redeem such losses. The question of vitamin
starvation, particularly of the B type, was linked up with the same problem, and like
some of the other faults that have been mentioned, was not confined to one class, nor
indeed was it typical of the poorest class of household. Anaemia, poor muscle tone,
pallor and constipation, have been proved elsewhere to mark a degree of vitamin
deprivation widespread in modern communities and, in particular, the use of protein
by the body has been found to be decided by its vitamin B supply. Possibly it is along
these lines of inquiry that the prevention and correction of anaemia, of the types
described here, may be worked out in due course.
Summary. Anaemia, as diagnosed clinically amongst the children examined, has
been studied with a view to determining its rate and manner of incidence, persistence,
and concomitant symptoms, and possible causes. The following are the findings:—
(1) Anaemfa, varying from slight to severe, was diagnosed in 30 per cent of the
children examined during pre-school life.
(2) There was no particular sex incidence.
(3) The rate incidence of anxmia was heaviest amongst the youngest children
examined (aged 2 years) and diminished steadily towards school life.
(4) There was a higher percentage ot anaemia amongst the winter months.
(5) The feeding of the anaemic children during infancy seemed to show that
breast feeding conferred no protection on the children with regard to this
condition, in tact the majority of the children found to be anaemic were breast
fed for more than six months.
(6) The nutrition of the anaemic children was not so good as the average for the
total children examined, and there appeared to be some correlation between
the occurrence of anaemia and rickets.
(7) I here was no proof that anxmia was associated with unemployment or poor
housing amongst the cases examined or that it could be associated with the
larger type of family.