Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-10
THE WEIGHT OF CHILDREN.
How 1T Varies from Day TO Day-PeriOds
of Increase and Decrease.

How 1t varies from Day TO Day-PerfOds
of Increase and Decrease.
Pastor Mailing Hansen, the Director of the
Royal Deaf and Dumb Asylum in Copenha-
gen, has published an interesting pamphlet
on ''The Periodicity of the Weight of Chill
dren." His observations, obtained by the
daily weighing of the children under his
care, are very interesting. According to his
evidence the weight OF children differs so
largely from day to day that no trustworthy
result can be obtained from weighing at long
intervals. A child may be two pounds heavier
at night than in the morning, and may
be one and half pounds lighter
in the morning than the night
before. Eating seems to have more influence
on weight than exercise, bathing or
occupation; The ultimate increase
in weight corresponding to in
crease in growth, does not 90 on regularly
throughout the year. There is a period of
stOppage in the Increase of weight with cor
responding loss, from the beginning of May
till pass the middle of July, in which time the
loss of weight may exceed double the average
ultimate gain. During August, September
and October there Is a very steady period of
increase IN weight, sometimes rising to FIVE
times more than the average increase, Dur
ing the rest of the year the weight varies
from less to more around the average figure
of increase. During the summer holidays,
the increase IN weight is twice the aver
age, and in September and October even
thrice. Besides the serious period of lOss
from May to July, there are at other times fire.
quent sudden stoppages in the increase of
weight, sometimes followed by actuai loss.
These hindrances, lasting from six to f9nf-
teen days, are not made up for by extra pee
riods of increase, and seem to indicate rea
damage, so that the actual increase of We rhf
seems to take place during about the hftb
part of the year, while the remaining time s
occupied with loss and its reDlarrrpen
There is q decided correspondence Astueen
the vacIllatiOn of temperature and al eoinpa-
nYlng Vaclllatlons in the weight Of the child
increase Of warmth and of weight H0 de-
crease of warmth and of weight go uaud III
hand. A decrease of 2 degrees of wa nth in
the temperature of the five days is &C 3mpa-
MED by a ninefold decrease in the wei lt ol q
child, and degrees more warmth by thr-
teenfOld increase in weight. The hinufalC0
and loss of weight that accompany decrease
in the warmth of the temperature may go on
even after the temperature has begun TO rise,
as if the loss depended on sickliness induced
by the colder temperature. A year that has
had most changes of temperature is far more
unfavorable to the normal increase of weight
in child than more steady year, and a
series of such unfavOrable years will for many
following years result in less strong children.
The re asOn Of the great period OF loss from
May to July, and the rapid increase during
the autumn months, do not seem to depend
on the conditions of warmth. The increase OF
weight in the children experimented on was
always greater during the period when the
moon was recedIng from the earth, and
less during the period when the moon
was approaching the earth. During
the former period the children increased in
weight twice as much as during the latter
period. Pastor Mailing -Hansen's inquiries
are considered so important that the Danish
government and the "CarlsDergfond'' have
granted sums of money for the continuance
and extension OF such experiments.