A Comparison of the Value of Milk and Oranges as Supplementary Lunch for Underweight Children

Abstract

The study of nutrition, as applied to the school child, has at the present time a well defined place in the school program. Physical fitness is an unparalleled asset to the adult. That some at least of the disability found in the adult may be laid to defective nutrition during childhood was probably first indicated by investigations in England following the Boer War, when two thirds of the recruits were rejected because of physical inperfections. Emerson1 states: "There is no evidence in the weighing and measuring of children that malnutrition, if left untreated, tends on the whole to correct itself. The percentage of malnutrition for older children is no less than that for younger children. It is, then, fair to assume that the nation's list of physically unfit is supplied by this group of malnourished children in the schools."The conclusion has thus been reached that rational feeding in infancy and childhood has a vital relationship to the development of physical strength and of resistance to infection. As a result of these findings, feeding has been introduced into the schools. A wave of nutrition reform has swept the country. Studies have been made con¬ cerning causes and results of malnutrition ; statistics have been gathered ; preventive measures formulated, and varied attempts made to over¬ come this insidious condition.

Principles Underlying Studies of Nutrition Pertaining to the Influence of Supplements on Growth, Physical Fitness and Health With a Comprehensive Bibliography of the Studies

“…In most studies it has been used successfully as a supplement,11 yet in one (Wood and Simp¬ son, 1937) its effect has been slight or erratic. In still another study (Chaney, 1923) it was reported that the effect of milk on the group under observation was surpassed by that of oranges. Wheat alone or in combination with yeast, while it has recognized deficiencies and would not be a complete or even effective supple¬ ment for all diets, has a fair biologic rating, which indicates that it might have supplemental value for many diets.…”