[Report 1955] / School Medical Officer of Health, Peterborough.

  • Peterborough (England). Council.
Date:
1955
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1955] / School Medical Officer of Health, Peterborough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    It will be noted that a larger percentage of children were classified as of good nutrition (A) than in 1954, and less classified as of poor condition (C). I he record cards of the 160 children classified as poor (C) in 1955 were examined in some detail — 91 were boys and 69 were girls. It is interesting to note that eight only of 379 children examined in the rural schools (2.1%) were classified as of poor nutrition, compared with 152 out of 3,051 (5%) of those examined in the City area schools. It is also striking to record that of the eight children classified as of poor nutrition in the rural schools, four were the children of R.A.F. personnel. One of these children had had smallpox in infancy. Five of the 160 children under review were one of twins, 28 were the only child in the family. In 40 cases the family consisted of two children; in 32 there was a family of three; in 28 there were four children, in eight, five children; in seven, six children, in three, seven children, in two, eight children, in three families nine children, and in two the family consisted of 13 children. In seven cases, no information was recorded of the number of children in the family (old type record cards). Forty of the 160 children classified as of poor nutrition were the eldest or elder of the family and 43 the youngest. The home circumstances were described as poor, or unsatisfactory, in 12 cases. In one of these the child was filthy, the house very dirty, and the mother worked as an office cleaner! Altogether, ten of the mothers went out to work, and another five were described as unsatisfactory. Eight of the children were “over-mothered.” Four were classified as of poor physique on account of gross obesity. One boy aged 14 years weighed 2061bs.; another aged years weighed 701bs., and a third boy aged nearly 15 years weighed 171^1bs. A girl aged 11 years weighed 1221bs. Twenty-one of the children under review suffered from defects of the nose and throat; four gave a history of broncho-pneumonia; three suffered from bronchitis, two suffered from asthma, one from rheumatism, one had been under treatment for heart trouble, one had been badly scalded at the age of 2^ years, one suffered from spina bifida, two were spastics, and one (a twin) had suffered from rickets; this was one of a family of nine. Five were excitable, highly strung children, and ten were noted to have a very bad posture. In two families there was a history of tuber¬ culosis. One child suffered from impetigo, one from scabies, one from constipation, one from eczema and one from hernia and congenital deformity of the diaphragm. It will be noted, therefore, that 57 of the 160 children (35.6%) classified as of poor general condition suffered, or had recently suffered, from some medical, surgical or psychological defects. School Meals Service School Canteens are in operation in 16 schools. The following Table shows the number of school meals supplied to school children on a typical school day in December, 1955.