Excerpt from Rickets: A Study of Economic Conditions and Their Effects on the Health of the Nation, in Two Parts Combined in One Volume, Freely Illustrated
When I was asked by the publishers, some eighteen months ago, to write a monograph on the subject of rickets, I undertook the task the more readily in that the subject had been one which had occupied my attention for many years.
One fact early impressed upon me was the comparatively limited world distribution of the disease, or in other words, that over large portions of the surface of the globe, notably in Africa, India, and the Far East generally, rickets was absent, or at all events was so slight and so occasional in its appearance that it was a factor of no importance in considering the health of these countries.
It was difficult to see why this should be, for experience taught that the life of the native of these uncivilised or semi-civilised regions was beset with hardships and dangers to which the young infant, in more sheltered conditions at home, was not exposed. The cult of the untutored savage does not now appeal to the imagination as it did during the eighteenth century, but nevertheless, there is no doubt that the child of such a race to-day escapes many of the diseases and morbid conditions to which children in civilised industrial communities in Europe are exceedingly prone. A notable example of such a disease is rickets.
At an early date I was further impressed with the inadequacy of the usual theories as to the ?tiology of rickets. In Africa, India, and China, ignorance as regards the simplest dietetic principles is much more profound than in Europe, and gross errors in infant feeding are much more common. Underfeeding and the early administration of starchy foods are very frequent among rice-eating peoples. In many parts deaths from starvation and marasmus are common, and at recurring intervals, in India and China, there are devastating famines which involve the loss of many thousands of infants.
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