CHILD NUTRITION

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 148, 25 June 1938, Page 10

CHILD NUTRITION

POSITION IN DOMINION

ILL-INFORMED CRITICS

THREE LOW RECORDS

"At the present time very keen interest is being displayed by the public as a whole in the subject of nutrition, and there is a great deal of talk—some of it obviously not particularly well informed—about food and diet," said the Minister of Health (the Hon. P. Fraser), when opening the new Plunket room at Pukerua Bay this afternoon. "An ever-growing body of dietary critics even go so far as to assert that there is progressive deterioration in the physique of our race and that we are rapidly becoming a C.3 population," he said. "As the Plunket system has recently been adversely criticised, the present occasion is perhaps not inopportune for me to say something on the subject.

""It is generally agreed that New Zealand compares more than favourably with the rest of the world from the point of view- of vital statistics. We hold three low records in our death rate, our infant mortality rate, and | our death rate from tuberculosis, while t our maternal rate of recent years has shown a marked and gratifying decline until today it is not far short of the rates in countries, such as the Netherlands and Norway, which have long served as examples for the rest of the world. "Again, observations which were made by the Division of School Hygiene brought out the fact that there had been an appreciable increase in both weight and height of New Zealand school children over a period of twenty years, and that our children showed up favourably in comparison with children from England and Canada, the only countries from which comparable figures were obtainable.

BETTER PHYSIQUE. "These observations as to the improved physique of New Zealand children have been confirmed by findings of the Post and Telegraph Department in regard to the weight and height of message boys recently employed and message boys, employed ten and twenty years ago. The findings, allowing for possible disparity in the ages and sizes of the boys offering during the different years mentioned, still show that present-day boys weigh on an average considerably more than those of ten years ago, and a good deal more than those of twenty years ago, while the boys joining the Post and Telegraph service today are on an average tajler than boys of 1927 and those of 1917 "So far then it will be agreed that there is little evidence of anything seriously wrong with New Zealand diet or with the young New Zealander. However, statistics such as I have referred to do not necessarily tell the . whole story, and I now propose to refer to some aspects of our public health which have given rise to feelings of uneasiness. . , , "First of all, there, is a great deal of malnutrition in our schools, although I am glad to say that for the past two or three years the numbers of school cMdren recorded as suffering from Sis condition have shown a tendency to decline. The state of nutrition of a child is, of course, dependent not only on the intake of food, but also on other factors such as the amount of wholesome exercise, of sleep and rest, and of fresh air and sunshine. Psychical influences also play a .part in promoting malnutrition and, the effect of worry and unhappmess; in th s connection are well known. Malnutrition moreover-is a vague term at and in the absence of any recognised physical yardstick by which it can be measured we must accent recorded figures with some caution.

"It is agreed, however, that there is too much malnutrition in New Zealand. lam watching with extreme interest the effect of the milk-in-schools scheme and believe that it will accelerate the improvement which is manifest at present. ' Already, lne , beneficial result of the. distribution of milk in schools, according to the teachers who are reliable witnesses and not at all likely to exaggerate, have exceeded expectations.

DENTAL DISEASE. '"Secondly, the dental condition of New Zealanders has been the subject of adverse comment. The comment is well justified, although I cannot go so far as to support the common assertion that 'New Zealanders have the worst teeth in the world.' Dental disease is by no means confined to New Zealand. There is much of it in Great Britain and in America, while in Australia the position is probably little, if any, better than here. The high incidence of dental disease, however, is admittedly a reproach to modern civilisation. On the curative side, good progress is being made and we school dental service is being rapidly extended. What is wanted, however, is prevention based on full knowledge of the factors which give rise to the disease. In the meantime, all that can be done is to give the public general dietetic and hygienic advice which will assist in protecting them against dental disease and to endeavour to elucidate the underlying causes of the condition. .... .. , "Thirdly, beds in public hospitals have increased and an ever-growing number of patients are being treated therein. The facts are incontrovertible, but in my opinion have no unfavourable import. Apart from road accidents, which are unfortunately still all too common, the increase in patients represents increasing confidence in our hospital system on the part of Maori and pakeha alike, and growing realisation that if seriously ill the hospital is the place to go to for treatment. With increasing complexity of medicine and with the growth of team work in medicine patients formerly treated at home must now be moved to hospital. At the same time I do not view the increase of hospital cases and the extension of our ~ hospitals, other than maternity hospitals, with any great enthusiasm. I would rather see hospitals contracting in size through the effectiveness of preventive health methods such as recently indicated by the New Zealand branch of the.B-M.A. FAR FROM SATISFIED "I do not view the position with so much pessimism as some people, but lest I be accused of adopting a complacent attitude I wish to state clearly that today in New Zealand there is too much faulty nutrition, too much dental disease and body deformity due to dietetic error, and that I for one am far from satisfied with the present state of affairs. While there is some truth in what has been said there is at the same time much exaggeration and much emphasis on wrong values.

"The Plunket Society itself is not immune from criticism, and of course it ought not to be immune from criticism, and recently the statement has been made in medical quarters which command respect that its system of feeding is wrong and has contributed to the amount of malnutrition amongst our pre-school and school population," concluded the Minister. "The great work of the Plunket Society, of course, needs no defence. The results speak for themselves, and I, with many other people, believe it is not by mere coincidence that the country which originated the Plunket system and

adopted it most widely has the lowest infant mortality in the world."

"Constructive criticism, however, is always valuable and the society, I know, will look carefully into the matter and will consult with its medical experts to ensure that in its formulae for the feeding of infants the newer knowledge of nutrition is given due weight. The founder of the society would, I am sure, have been the first to proclaim that the society is not static, but is prepared to advance with the times, to study infant welfare in the light of new knowledge, and to incorporate in its practice and teachings whatever is proved to be sound. EVERY ENCOURAGEMENT. "In conclusion," said Mr. Fraser, "I wish to emphasise that sound nutrition is of prime importance from the point of view of national well-being. Recently, as you probably are aware, a Medical Research Council has been set up in New Zealand, and I am glad to say that the first subject this body decided to investigate was that of nutrition. The work has been entrusted to Dr. Malcolm, Professor of Physiology in the Otago Medical School, and very capable associates. So far, of course, only a beginning has been made, but speaking for the Government I can say that every encouragement, including the necessary financial support, will be accorded the Medical Research Council, Professor Malcolm, and his co-workers in their efforts to improve the health of our people, especially that of the children, by a wider knowledge of foods and their proper use.

"The president of the Plunket Society, Mrs. Begg, assured me the other day in Dunedin that the society welcomed the projected investigation."