definite evidence of its existence to enable the examiners to reject them as useless for any form of military service. This experience was not limited to London, for we find that in Liver- pool among 20,704 men the incidence was 2-15% and in Yorks, in a group of 24,281 men, 2-37%. The close correspondence of the incidence found among these 3 large groups of men in different parts of the country suggests very strongly that the figures are trustworthy, and represent with accuracy the fre- quency of active or established tuberculosis in men in the 3rd, 4th and 5th decades of life.
Apart from specific diseases another feature of this table which invites comment is the 2,967 men (1-8% of the number examined) who were found fit only for the lower grades on account of poor physique. Now the physique of an individual is to be regarded as the effect upon him of his inheritance and environ- ment it is the net result of all the factors which combine to make him what he is physically. In the absence of evidence of actual racial degeneration poor physique must be attributed to the environment of the individual to the conditions of life to which he has been subjected. Any evidence that indicates the standard of physique prevailing among men of military age will therefore afford a valuable criterion of the extent to which modern conditions of life do or do not permit of healthy bodily development. Measurements of the height, weight and chest girth are commonly accepted as the practical criteria of physique, and the records of these measurements provide us with an opportunity of investigating and comparing the physique of the men examined.
Now, though the anthropometrical observations made as part of the physical examination of men of military age had not in 1921 been fully worked out, the figures already available are of interest and importance; thus in a group of 71,000 men of all ages between 18 and 41 in the W. Midland region it is shown that at 18 years the average height was 65-6", at 25 years 66-1", at 35 years 65-9", and at 40 years 65-8". On comparing these figures with those of the report of the Anthropometrical Com- mittee of the British Association in 1883, it is found that they are in every case well below the averages then found which were, at 18 years 66.6", at 25 years 67-5", at 35 years 68-0", and at 40 years 67-9". Indeed, these recent W. Midland figures are less favourable than those of Group IV. (the poorest class in the Anthropometrical Committee's report), viz. artisans in towns, and much less favourable than those of Group I., the pro- fessional classes in the same report.
Height in Inches.
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Age
1 8 years
25 years
35 years
40 years
W. Midland Group IV Group I
65-6" 66-6" 68-2"
66-1" 67-5" 69-1"
65-9" 68-0" 69-1"
65-8"
67-9" 69-6"
On the average, therefore, the W. Midland heights are about i|" below the average stature quoted in the anthropometrical report of 1883.
Turning to the weight tables for the same group of W. Midland men the salient feature is that in no age group in any of the constituent areas (Birmingham, Burslem, Dudley, Worcester, Coventry, Shrewsbury, Hertford, Leamington, Walsall and Wolverhampton) is there a higher average than 137! Ib. Among all the 240 groups in the scries only 7 1 show an average weight of 130 Ib. or over, while in all the 24 age groups in Birmingham (which include nearly 20,000 men) there are only 5 groups of 130 Ib. and upwards, and no age group under 30 years reaches an average of 130 Ib. Comparing the Birmingham figures with those of the Anthropometrical Committee's report (with a deduction of 9 Ib. for clothes) it is found that the Birmingham figures are lower throughout to the following extent: at 18 years u| Ib., at 20 years 14 Ib., at 25 years 135 Ib., at 30 years 21 Ib., at 35 years 27-5 Ib., at 40 years 21-6 Ib. The other industrial communities (Burslem, Dudley, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Coventry) show similar deficiencies. The agricultural communities (Worcester and Shrewsbury) show the
best weights, but still below those found by the Anthropometrical Committee to the extent shown in this table:
Weight in Pounds.
Age
1 8 years
25 years
30 years
35 years
40 years
Worcester . . Shrewsbury .
10 Ib.
2jlb.
II Ib. 9lb.
20f Ib.
igflb.
22 Ib.
24 Ib.
21 Ib. 23 Ib.
These comparisons speak for themselves.
The average stature and weight of individuals furnish a valuable criterion of the health and physical capacity of a community, and these figures clearly indicate the deleterious effect of modern conditions of life upon the population. This conclusion is further borne out by an investigation of the principal measurements of groups of Grade I. men from every area in Great Britain, which show that the average for a Grade I. man is as follows:
Height Weight Chest girth
5 ft. 6 in. 127-2 Ib. 35 in.
Due precautions were taken to insure that these groups were as far as possible representative of the whole, and the results in different parts of the country showed surprisingly small variations from the average. We must therefore conclude that a man presenting the above measurements is to be regarded as an average specimen of the male Briton, who has attained the full normal standard of health and physique a conclusion which can hardly be regarded with satisfaction. With regard to Grade I. youths of 18 years, similar data for all areas are unfortunately not available, but the average for a considerable group in the N.W. region worked out as follows:
Height Weight Chest girth
5 ft. 5 in. 117-3 Ib. 33'4 in-
If we accept this group of youths as representative (and there is no reason to think it is not so) and compare these figures with the corresponding measurements of the Grade I. men, we find that the average increase between 18 years and full develop- ment is i in. in stature, 9-9 Ib. in weight, and 1-6 in. in chest girth. Now we know from the experience of the army, both in peace-time and during the war, that much better results can be obtained by making youths and young men live a hygienic life, with proper food and attention to their physical development. The present figures therefore show clearly that the average condi- tions of life to-day have produced and are producing physical results on the rising generation which are greatly to be deplored.
One other table printed in the report is of special significance comment is superfluous.
Average Measurement of 36 Youths of 18 Years Rejected for Poor Physique.
Height
Weight
Chest girth
4 ft. 9 in.
84 Ib.
29-9 in.
In conclusion let us consider the main facts of this physical census in the light of the method of comparisons suggested by Prof. Arthur Keith. He shows that on theoretical grounds it is to be expected that the complex quality of physical fitness is distributed among a healthy population in the same proportions as has been found for the distribution of other physical attributes. If this reasoning is correct we ought to find in a healthy popula- tion that the numbers of men in each grade of fitness bear a con- stant relation to each other in the following proportions:
Grade 1 70 %
Grade II . . . 20 %
Grade III 7-5 %
Grade IV 2-5 %
Actual experience testifies to the truth of this inference: thus a " comb-out " of miners (a group of the community known to enjoy a good standard of health and physique) in the summer of 1918 yielded the following result:
Grade 1 76 %
Grade II ....-,. . . . 12 %
Grade III 10 %
Grade IV . . . . . 4-2 %
Another group of miners yielded Grade I. 76%, Grade II. 19%, Grade III. 11%, Grade IV. 3%. Results such as these
