Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-04-02
Of Stors,I Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
By Thomas r. Henry.

The nutrition Of an appreciable part
Of the American population is below par
Actual deaths due to malnutrition
probably are grossly underestimate in
official statistics.
Such are the conclusions of three OF
the country's foremost food experts,
forming committee of the National
Research Council, in a report just made
to the American Medical Association.
The committee is composed of DR..
Norman Joliffe of New York. DR.. James
S. McLester of Birmingham, Ala. former
president of the American Medical As
ISOLATION, and DR.. H. c. Sherman of
Columbia University.
Their work dates from the National
Nutrition Conference held last year in
Washington. At that time 1t generally
was agreed that the diet of large per-
centage of the American people was de-
f1cient in vitamins and other essential
substances, but there was little con-
elusive evidence. Shortly afterward
protests began to be voiced by physicians
who pointed to the few cases of Vita
min deficiencies which actually could be
diagnosed. Much of the evidence was
vague, and the committee set out to get
some order out of the confusion.
First, they point out, very few are re-
ported as dying of poor diets. outside the
pellagra belts OF the South. This is
partly. they believe, because such deaths
are covered up by other diagnoses in
death certificates
1T would be interesting to know" they
say, "how much malnutrition Is con-
cealed In the 10000 deaths recorded In
1888 under the heading of diseases of
the circulatory system, or in 75,43l
deaths under the classification diseases
of the heart unclassified,' or in the 1859
deaths listed as due to alcoholism"
A gross deficiency In thlamin chloride.
they point out, causes the fatal heart
and-nerve disease, beriberi Ten years
ago a case was unknown in the United
States and the condition was believed
confined to the Orient. In 1888 one
American case was listed. In 1888 there
were a deaths.
lieves, is absurd. The popular diet i'm
proved between 1888 and 1888. Pre-
sumably. they believe beriberi has been
killing Americans for long time but
physicians have just started to recog-
nize it
They detail the available evidence on
various deficiencies from what they be-
lieve reliable indexes. A notable require
ment in the diet Is iron. The chief
result OF too little Is hypochromic
anemia Recent surveys received by
the committee show that, depending
somewhat on the section of the country
reporting, the incidence of this condi-
ton varies from 1.3 to IS per cent among
school children and from to u per
cent among pregnant women
Vitamin D is essential for building the
bones Of children. Without it, except
in areas of abundant sunshine, ricketts,
develops. Present figures in their pos
session. the committee reports. indicate
that there are active and healed LESSONS
due to ricketts, in 20 per cent OF pre-
school children in the country as a
whole.
Vitamin A is held responsible for
many clinical conditions but the best
index Is probably condition known as
xerosis conjunctivae in the eyes. Surveys
show that in some public schools as
many as 86 per cent of the children show
signs of this condition. If 1t is even
tually confirmed that this is sound
index. the committe says, 1T will be
probable that the prevalence of this
deficiency is many times that hitherto
believed"
Vitamin C is necessary to prevent
scurvy. Few cases actually are seen in
the United States. But with new meth
DDS of determining the amounts in the
blood, the committee says, the presence
of undersaturation in various popula-
ton groups is beginning to appear in
from to IS per cent of those examined.
The evidence at our disposal" they
say, warrants the conclusion that
dietary deficiencies and malnutrition are
of frequent occurrence in the United
States and that the nutritional status
of a considerable part of our population
can be distinctly improved. If optimal
nutrition is sought, then widespread i'm
provement is possible"