British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 839

CHAPTER XIX.

Vitamin A : Inadequate in all 1942 groups under the £P.l'! income level, and in Oriental Jews up to £P.2-2! level (inadequacy taken as intake below 3000 I.U. per diem). Inadequacy is 'due to reliance upon cereals and vegetable fats in lower income diets, with failure to receive green vegetables and dairy produce.

Vitamin B1 : Diets generally adequate, due to consumption of coarse brown bread.

Vitamin C Taking 50 mgms. as minimal adequate level, failure occurred only in the lowest income group in 1943. Citrus fruit and tomatoes abundant.

Vitamin D Almost absent from local diets. Signs of deficiency are confined chiefly to women and young infants deprived by custom from exposure to sun.

46. Physical examination of school children in the families
studied showed the following for Arabs :
Class III
(extra feeding A.C.H.
required) H/W ratio index* Teeth
1942 81.5% 28% poor 23% bad 34% bad 36%
1943 20.2% 15% poor 22% bad 37% bad 45%
There was a perceptible physical improvement in Arab children examined during the survey, associated with the movement of many families from lower to higher expenditure groups. It should be remembered that until 1943 none of the Arab children received supplementary feeding in the form of school meals.

In the case of Jewish school children, the following findings were noted :

Class Ill (extra feeding

required) Fl/W ratio

Oriental Jews

A.C.H. index"

Teeth

Anaemia. obvious

1942 1943

16.0% 13.4%

15.3% bad 12.8% bad

19.1% bad 22.6% bud

45.4% bad 51.0% bad

l3.0% 13.9%

European Jews

1942 11.0% 10.0% bad 22.0% bad 43.0% bad 7.9%

1943 10.0% 9.0% bad 27.0% bad 50.0% bad 8.0%

(44% of Oriental Jewish children and 29% of European Jewish children were receiving school meals in 1942).

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* A.C.H. index based on arm, chest and hip measurements.

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