DIET AND HEALTH

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19227, 20 January 1937, Page 15

DIET AND HEALTH

NEED FOR MORE MILK NUTRITION RESEARCH Tho fact that insufficient eggs, fruit and green vegetables—foods essential to public health—were consumed by people in New Zealand, was stressed by Dr. E. 11. Gunson at the Science Congress in Auckland. Dr. Gunson is a member of tho Auckland Hospital Board, and has been prominent in advocating the raising of the standard of public health. In his paper he suggested the establishment. of a nutrition research institute and the inauguration of a national food policy. The association of illness and disease in the community was correlated with nutrition, he said. Consideration of statistics covering the household budget position indicated that the weekly expenditure on food for that quarter of the population enjoying a family income of £6 per week and more was 8s per person per week. Statistics showed that actually for the expenditure an inadequate amount of protective foodstuffs was consumed. It followed, therefore, that the weekly income of three-quarters of our population .which lias less to spend on food than this represented a still more inadequate amount. Summarising a number of facts to which the attention of the Government, should be drawn, lie said that a very i high proportion of school children presented medical defects which in themselves were manifestations of inadequate nutrition, and (lie majority of those defects were preventable. Maternal mortality, too, would be considerably reduced if expectant and nursing mothers wore dieted in accordance with modern knowledge of their special nutritional needs. Another fact of which the Government should be made aware was that tho highest incidence of hospital admissions occurred in the age group of 15-25, and that those admissions were duo to diseases which were largely the development and the outcome of the faulty nutrition as seen in school children. The major requirement to prevent that fqulty nutrition was adequate and appropriate food. “In regard to milk,” said Dr. Gunson, “wo retain 5 per cent, or 45,000,000 gallons a year, and we export the product of 755.000,000 gallons. The quantity retained represents half a. pint per head of the population. In order to supply every adult with one pint of milk a rlav and every child with a pint and a half, wo require to produce and make available to the people an additional 25,000.000 gallons.” Eggs, fruit and green vegetables were also consumed in inadequate quantity, and as a matter of importance to agriculture, in some areas there were chemical deficiencies in foodstuffs.