CHILD HEALTH: IMPORTANCE OF ADEQUATE REST

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 October 1948, Page 6

CHILD HEALTH: IMPORTANCE OF ADEQUATE REST

Subnormal nutrition among New Zealand children is still high, according to figures in the annual report of the Department of Health. The percentage among Europeans rose from 8.07 in 1946 to 8.75 in 1947. There Was a decrease recorded among Maoris, where the percentage last year was 6.62, compared with 7.38 in 1946. “The medical examiners find that our pre-school children are not well supervised for day-time rest and night-time sleep in many homes, and that fresh air in homes and bedrooms is not encouraged enough,” the report says. “Household dietary surveys reveal wrong feeding in too large a proportion of our homes—excessive carbohydrate or energy foods and insufficient protein or bodybuilding foods and protectives.” Posture continues to be unsatisfactory. Some is simply the result of bad habits of walking, standing, ahd sitting. - The incidence of goitre has reduced, and the department considers

that this indicates that New. Zealanders have learned to use iodised salt, and that continuous health education in the prevention of simple goitre has had good results.. Except for dental caries, country primdry school children show more defects than , children in town schools, but their nutrition is better. •

Proposed U.S. Loan to ,sr ? el _ , - The proposal for a loan to Israel or 100,000,000 dollars by the United States Export-Import Bank has been shelved. Instead consideration is being given to the financing of specific projects in Israel It is understood that the disturbed conditions in that conutry made the loan a bad risk.—Washington, October 7. b