It was once thought that rickets were a thing of the past, destined never to appear again, but this is shown by recent findings to be over= optimistic. The current issue of The Practioner contzins an article by Dre Gavin Arneil who comments on the 40 cases of rickets in the last five yeurs from one slum area of Glasgow and suggests that after children are taken off dried milk (containing vitamin D) their diets no longer provided enough of that vitamin.
Dr. Royston Lambert in his book "Nutrition in Britain 1950-60" underlines the findings of the National Food Survey which shows that imperfect nutrition became more widespread during the 50's. In 1960 a quarter of the population fell below official standards in at least 3% or more nutrient factors. It was found thet smaller families eat better than large in all but top income groups. A graphic example is given by the fact that the mean heights of 14-year-old boys from small families in Croydon were 5 inches more than those of boys from large families in Salford. The 'two nations! msybe still do exist!