Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-24
Umdermourished Children
Among Both Rich and Poor

All over the country, among the rich
and poor families alike, one school
child in every three is suffering, IN
greater or less degree, from malnutrl-
tion. Even doctors were startled at
this surprising information which was
uncovered in surveys made in schools
in every section of the country and In
Canada.
Women's clubs, school boards. child
welfare organizations and even the
United States government have recent
ly become interested in the movement
to correct this unfortunate condition
among children.
The head of the United States pub
lie service recently wrote to the lead
ing woman's magazine an editorial on
this subject. of under-nourishment
among children. In speaking of the
seriously underweight he said this:
Although they may be supplied with
plenty of food at the home table they
are as truly underfed as the unfor-
tunate of foreign lands. When the
public understands the facts the rem
edy will be applied automatically, SO to
speak"
Under NourIshed In All Glasses
III SdI1aAo q "Ao - AA
several schools and the report said In
part: ''Thirty-five per cent of the I'M
der-nourished children in Chicago were
found equally in the homes of the poor,
the well to do, and even the wealthy.
An eminent doctor, too, has written
an entire book on the subject of nutri-
ton and growth of children. In the
preface of this book we find the fol-
lowing:
THE spread of these ideas would
necessarily have been much slower had
it not been for the startling revelations
of the selective service draft. The re-
port of the surgeon general OF the
army, which showed barely 90 per cent
of our young men physically fit for
service in the first line. was a shock
to medical men. economists, educators
and the general public. The fact that
this condition was largely due to the
defects and habits that are reducible
in childhood has focused attention
upon the problem of these early years"
Faulty Diet Blamed
Even further, a department Of our
government has become alarmed be-
cause they appreciate the country's
economic need for strong, robust chill
dren. The children's bureau of the
United States department of labor has
issued a booklet called What Is NAL
nutrition" in which they sum up cur
rent information on the subject. From
this government pamphlet we learn
that approximately 100000 children
are seriously under-nourished. In
speaking of these children this booklet
says in part:
Enquiry into the living habits of
these children almost always reveals a
family diet or otherwise defective
health program"
Manufacturers, too, are getting be-
hind this movement to spread informa-
ton about q condition of child health
which stands in need of immediate cor
r%ection.
The Proctor and Gamble company,
for example, have recently placed what
is perhaps the largest newspaper cam
paign ever run for a food product. This
advertising, which is for Crisco, gives
mothers much information about the
need for more intelligent home care of
their girls and boys and give them, too,
many helpful hints about how they
may assure their children more digest
IDLE foods.
Readily Digested Fats
The advertisements point out the
scientific reasons why children must
have a sufficient quantity of fats in
their diet. They explain that fats are
our chief energy foods, that without
fats the children would lose their young
animal energy.
But mothers are reminded for the
peculiar need for a fat which readily
digests. The makers of Crisco have
learned. in their scientific research,