MILK IN SCHOOLS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23516, 2 June 1938, Page 20

MILK IN SCHOOLS

COMMITTEE’S INQUIRY GREATER PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, Apl. 30. The importance of milk for the improvement of the physique of school children is further emphasised by the interim report of an official investigation carried out by a committee of experts, under the chairmanship of Sir John Orr, appointed by the Milk Marketing Board. The committee is investigating the effect of the milk-in-schools scheme on the growth and health of school children. It has been shown that those children receiving a daily ration of onethird of a pint show increases in weight and height over those who do not take advantage of the milk-in-schools scheme. When greater quantities are consumed there is a correspondingly greater physical development. Work began in 1935 and covered 8000 children in schools at Luton, Wolverhampton, Burton-on-Trent, Huddersfield, and Renfrewshire. The co-operation of parents, local education authorities, school medical officers and teachers enabled the children to be so grouped that 2000 did not receive any milk (they got biscuits instead): 2000 received onethird of a pint of pasteurised milk; 2000 were given two-thirds of a pint of pasteurised milk; and the remainder had two-thirds of a pint of raw milk. Improvement figures relating to the children receiving one-third of a pint of milk were almost doubled by the children who received twice that quantity. The groups with the large milk supplement gained 4 to 6 per cent, more in height during the year and 9 to 10 per cent, more in weight than those with the biscuit supplement. It is pointed out that only 49 per cent, of those eligible take advantage of the milk-in-schools scheme. The number of children who could receive milk is 5,000.000.