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The reduction in the total is due to sickness of medical staff and
to the greater amount of time allocated to other duties.
5. REVIEW OF THE FACTS DISCLOSED BY
MEDICAL INSPECTION.
(a) Malnutrition.—The following is a comparative summary of
the findings at medical inspection with regard to those children
noted as being of " excellent nutrition."
Entrants. Second Age Group. Third Age Group.
1934. 1933. 1932. 1934. 1933. 1932. 1934. 1933. 1932.
Boya 89.8 86.2 82.5 85.8 82.6 84.7 79.9 83.5 83.7
Girls 88.8 88.2 83.6 82.9 81.0 80.7 82.2 74.0 80.8
The above table shows the scoring made by the medical inspectors
at routine medical inspection, as a result of seeing each child
stripped to the waist, and is a far more reliable index of the state
of nutrition than any classification on a basis of age, height and
weight. Such tables vary enormously and many children who are
tall and spare but otherwise perfectly healthy—often far fitter
than their obese fellows—would, under such tables, be scored as
under weight.
An analysis of the table shows that the percentage of entrants
with excellent nutrition has steadily increased since 1932.
Similarly, in the second age group (8 years old children), and the
set back shown in 1933 with regard to the boys has been more than
made good. Similarly, the 12-year-old girls have made good the
1933 set back and the only adverse finding was in respect of
12-year-old boys. The number of children found at routine inspection
to require treatment for malnutrition was 167, against 134 in
1933.