Evening star., 1927-05-08
MALNOURISHED CHILDREN
BY FREDERIC ]. H4SKIN.

A recent study of the United States
Children's Bureau discloses. the. star
tling fact that from one-fourth to one
third of the children in this country
are definitely malnourished and that
the number of children of really SUI
perior nutrition is small. In some
communities, in fact, malnutrition is
SO common as to be scarcely recog-
nized as an abnormal condition.
The question has been asked as to
just what permanent effect malnutri-
tio1 has upon a child, and If it affects
him after he grows up. 1t is a fact
that many such children manage to
live, to get through their school
courses and to take their places in
the world as men and women How
ever, those who have made a study
of this evil say that it does make a
great difference. One authority has
made the statement that the NAL
nourished child tends to become dis
abled and unemployable, incapable Of
resisting disease or Withstanding its
onset and process.
The detrimental effects of malnu
triton are shown in both the physical
and the mental development of the
child. A child suffering from malnutri-
ton may be stunted in growth, may
play lack of energy. Evidence that
long g-continued malnutrition with its
accompanying diminished energy ana
lowered resistance to infection may
leave a permanent imprint on grow
ing child was shown at the time OF
the Boer War. England was shocked
to find that three out of every five
applying for army service were physi-
cally unfit for it. A commission ap-
pointed to inquire into the reason for
this returned the verdict that malnu-
triton during childhood was one OF
the leading causes.
A similar condition was found in
this country during the World War.
A large number of applicants were
rejected for physical unfitness, and
the general consensus of medical
opinion was that the chief factors re-
sponsible for this condition We're mall
nutrition and remedial defects of in
fancy and early childhood
A child who is malnourished is not
only more susceptible to disease, but
in the event of contracting such dis
eases as measles, who0ping cough, or
scarlet fever Is not as well able to
throw them off. A large proportion
of mortality among children is said
to be due to faulty nutrition. Expert
mentation on animals, as we'll as hu-
man beings, has shown that if malnu-
triton has not been too severe nor
too long continued its effects may
be almost entirely overcome when
the nutritional state is restored to
normal. 1t is, therefore, pointed out
that the sooner malnutrition is recog-
nized and corrected the greater are
the chances for the child'S recovery.
Signs of Malnutrition.
The Children's Bureau in its re-
port on malnutrition has given symp-
toms by which child may be judged
| to be poorly nourished, some of which
are as follows: Such a child is usually
thin, although he may be fat and
| fiabby. His skin may have a pale,
delicate, Waxlike look or it may be
sallow, muddy, or even pasty or
| earthly. He usually has blue circles
or dark hollows under his eyes and
the mucous membrane inside his eye
| lids is pale and colorless. His hair
may be rough and his tongue coated.
| His skin seems loose, his flesh flabby
| and his muscles undeveloped. He is
| likely to be listless, and to tire easily,
and often is regarded as lazy. Men
| tally he appears to lack power of
| concentration and often has not the
natural inquisitiveness of the normal
| child. He may be nervous, may sleep
| lightly and may be finicky about his
! food.
| There are degrees of malnutrition
ranging from the severe cases, where
| practically every symptom is present,
| to the case in which there seems to
be no definite symptom, but still the
| child appears to be in not quite normal
physical condition. A malnourished
child may be undernourished, as
shown in underweight and stunted
growth, or he may be abnormally
nourished, as evidenced by overweight
and other symptoms.
| One of the most common causes of
maInutrition is conceded to be diet
which is insufficient or unsuitable.
| Food is the first requirement of the
| growing child and it is important that
| parents know just what is proper
diet. In addition to his diet it is i'm
portant that he get sufficient
| amount of sleep in well ventilated
room, and that he have plenty Of ex-
ercise. Care must be taken, however,
/ to see that the child does not become
oyertired so that he suffers from
chronic fatigue. In other words, all
of his daily routine must be well
| balanced.
Malnutrition is frequently the result
| of poverty or ignorance. In England,
| school lunches, or extra meals pro-
vided by the school authorities, We're
| instituted almost Immediately after
the discovery that malnutrition was
ssso tr,rayaJant ain that IcolIntry This