Malnutrition and Health Education
NEWS and COMMENT.
Dr David Mitchell, Bureau of Educational Experiments, presents the report of an interesting experiment in the conduct of “Nutrition Classes,” which was carried out in the P. S. 6i, Manhattan, New York, for four months beginning with February, 1918. The first step in such an experiment is concerned with determining the condition of the children to be observed. Scales and measuring rods were the equipment, and the results obtained showed that an average of 16.8 per cent of all the children examined were 7 per cent or more under the weight which they should have been for their height. If the condition of malnutrition exists in such proportions the reasons behind it must be reached and eliminated. Investigation showed that it was not only the lack of proper food that made for malnutrition, but the manner in which the food was eaten, as well as the use of stimulants such as tea and coffee, eating too rapidly or when over fatigued, eating between meals, irregularity of meals and insufficient sleep.
Malnutrition is also a product of physical defects. The condition of the teeth and the removal of any naso-pharangeal obstruction must be attended to before improvement may be looked for. Insufficient rest is another condition that must be considered, for the child’s digestive organs do not function properly when the body is over-tired. It was suggested that food given in smaller quantities and at more frequent intervals would prove of more benefit to the child, and that, above all, the proper and best food be procured. With these conditions as the primary causes of malnutrition carefully considered it was decided to organize six nutrition classes which would be governed by rules providing for the elimination of one or more of the conditions which were considered factors leading to malnutrition.
The children in the different classes were not only given good food in the proper quantities, but they were instructed in health habits as well. Teeth were examined and defects corrected. Wherever the consent of the parent could be obtained adenoids and tonsils were removed. Rest periods were included in the daily program, and a daily chart of the child’s progress was kept on which was noted the increase or loss of weight as well as the rest periods indulged in or the number of lunches and dinners taken each day by the child.
The co-operation of the child was necessary in order to obtain satisfactory results, and so the classes were organized in a way that would appeal to the desires and aims of the children. The nutrition class worked on the assumption that every girl wanted to be attractive and beautiful and that every boy wished to be athletic. In order to bring about the necessary competition various methods were used. One of the most important of these is the use of a chart. The name of the child is printed in large letters and then his age, grade, original height and weight are recorded. Along with this are given his normal weight and the number of pounds and per cent underweight. The chart is arranged to contain the results of thirty meetings of the nutrition class. In a column corresponding to each meeting the weight of the child on that day is recorded, and the line of normal weight indicated by a heavy line. The child records the number of calories which he takes each day. If the morning lunch is taken and the mid287 morning rest is observed these items are marked in the proper place by a red and blue star respectively. In much the same way the child keeps his own record of his physical defects. The number of teeth defective is recorded each day and as the defects are removed the number decreases until the line becomes clear. If a child requires an operation for adenoids and tonsils a black seal is placed in the column on the day when the defect is detected, and each week until the operation is performed another black seal is added to the chart. In like manner the use of tea and coffee is noted. Each week the number of days on which the child has partaken of these drinks is recorded, and the line of record becomes clear and white only when these stimulants have been eliminated from the diet list. For the helpful factors such as resting, normal feeding and proper food the aim of the child is to get a star or a large number each week. For the detrimental factors included in the list of physical defects the aim is to eliminate the black marks and have a clear record all across the chart. The charts are arranged on the wall of the class room, at one end the chart of the child who has made the greatest gain since the previous meeting of the class and at the other end the chart of the child who has gained the least or lost the most. To the first chart a gold star is attached. The children arrange themselves in the classroom according to the order of their charts. The children are instructed in health habits, and the cause of the gain or loss of weight is explained, and the factors which make for better health conditions discussed.
What and how to eat is sometimes stressed, although no attempt is made to change the diet of the family. The child is thus educated in matters of personal health and hygiene, in the reason for eliminating certain things and for the observance of certain other things.
The results obtained from the methods of procedure, already outlined, sho w that the total gain for the children in Grade 7 was 72 pounds, the expected gain for the period of about nineteen weeks while the children were in the nutrition classes was 64.8 pounds. The net gain made by the children was therefore 7.2 pounds. The percentage of gain in excess of normal is 11.1. The children in Grade 6 for a similar length of time gained 109 pounds, which is 18.1 pound more than the expected gain of 89.9 pounds for the period. The result for th other grades is much the same, and the experiment showed that the prope food, rest, habits of eating, and sufficient incentive to carry out health and hygienic rules will overcome the bad effects of malnutrition.
The School Board Service Division.
In connection with the Bureau of Education in Washington, D. C., there has been organized a School Board Service Division, the purpose of which is to supply vacancies with suitable teachers. The services of the School Board Service Division are without cost either to the teachers or to school authorities. Commissioner of Education Claxton says, in explaining the services of this department: “We wish especially not to disturb teachers who are both happy and satisfactory in their present position. By far the larger per cent of teachers will remain, and should remain where they are. Frequent changes are not best either for the welfare of the school or for the reputation of the teacher. Nevertheless vacancies will arise and worthy teachers will desire to change places. In both such cases we desire to be of the greatest possible assistance.” Registration blanks may be obtained through the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C.
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