HIGH DEGREE OF FITNESS

Southland Times, Issue 23987, 30 November 1939, Page 13

HIGH DEGREE OF FITNESS

Officers In Otago Camps SINGLE MEN IN SIXTH PLACE ; (Special to The Times) DUNEDIN, November 29. A study of the results of the medical examination of the men who have enlisted in the various groups in the Otago district for the special force reveals some illuminatings information. The highest degree of fitness prevails among officers and the lowest among married men with four and five children. Single men have to be content with sixth place on the list. So far 1151 men have been examined and of these 720 have been passed as fit, 282 have been classed as temporarily unfit and 149 as permanently unfit. Of the 57 officers who have been medically examined, no fewer than 50 have passed the test, giving them a percentage of passes of 88 per cent. Eighty per cent, of the officers on the reserve passed the test, so that a high standard of fitness prevails in the commissioned ranks. • The standard is not so high among the single men, for only 63 per cent, have passed the medical examination. It appears that they are not so well looked after as the married men, for 66 per cent, of the married men without children were classed as fit, 64 per cent, of those with one child passed, and 66 per cent, of those with three children have satisfied the doctors. Men with bigger families were less successful, only 31 per cent, with four children and 45 per cent, with five or more of a family passing. On the other hand, married men with three children had a percentage pass of 66. These figures compare more than favourably with the percentages of passes in the various groups in the Canterbury district, with the notable exception of single men, 66 per cent, of whom passed the test in the northern district. Although there have been repeated rumours that an unduly large percentage of men in camp are married men, the official figures in Otago show that from this district there are 345 single men in camp compared with 131 married men. Ten of the married men have four or more children.