PHYSICAL RECORDS SHOW IMPROVEMENT

About 2,000 physical examinations were conducted by Dr. Roger I. Lee '02, Professor of Hygiene, and his assistants during the past year, and on the whole, the reports show a satisfactory undergraduate health record. Of these, of course, many were reexaminations, but those of the 903 incoming Freshmen present some striking features.

For one thing the smoking habit does not seem to be so prevalent in the class of 1927. Each year statistics have been collected in regard to the number of men who smoke, and although these figures may not be absolutely correct, they are at least comparatively accurate. 32.5 per cent of this year's Freshmen class are smokers while the percentage in 1921 was 48 per cent and in 1922 was 37 per cent. There is probably some slight tendency to a decrease in smoking due to an increased participation in athletic exercises. In one of the graduate schools, 53 percent of the men smoke as compared with 54 percent in 1921 and 65 percent in 1922. At a rough estimate slightly over half of the college students are tobacco users by the time they graduate.

Standing Posture Shows Improvement

The standing posture of the Freshmen seems also to have improved. Beginning in the Fall of 1919 the Freshmen have been graded in regard to their posture, and in that year over 80 percent were rated as poor and 35 percent as very poor. Since that time there has been very great interest in the work of body mechanics, which was inaugurated in the University by Dr. Lloyd T. Brown '03, and carried out by Mr. William H. Geer, and his associates. In the Fall of 1923, 68 percent were rated as poor and over 14 percent as very poor. This sudden drop in percentage is due probably to the interest which secondary schools are manifesting in posture work.

Seventy Percent Have Heart Murmurs

Increasing experience with physical examinations has given a better interpretation of certain abnormalities which have heretofore caused a great deal of alarm. A large percentage of Freshmen have systolic heart murmurs. This can be demonstrated in as high as 70 percent of the present class.

Dr. Lee, in his report, says, "Confirmation of the fact that the Harvard undergraduate is generally healthy is found in the tabulations of absences from college work due to illness. During the academic year 1922-23, on an average, each undergraduate lost six days on account of illness during the eight months of the college term. The average daily percent of absenteeism, due to illness, was 2.6 percent. The figures were higher in 1922-23. This increase was due to the prevalence of so-called "grippe" within the college community and also within the community at large during the months of January, February, and March. The absenteeism on account of illness is in over 80 percent of the cases due to infections of the upper respiratory tract which are variously reported as "grippe," "colds," "bronchitis," etc. In general the comparative figures show that the college community shares in the state of health of the community at large."