POOR BODILY MECHANICS SHOWN IN 1923 TESTS

The results of this year's physical examinations of first-year men, including Freshmen and unclassified students, show the intelligence of an enlightened group of parents on the subject of health, according to Dr. Roger 1. Lee '02, Professor of Hygiene, who has been in charge of the examinations. Figures compiled at his office show that very few Freshmen have neglected teeth; that 37.2 per cent. wear glasses; that very few have such gross, uncorrected defects of the eye that they need the immediate attention of the oculist; and that 43.6 per cent. have already had their tonsils removed. Only four individuals were found whose tonsils were so obviously diseased that a removal might seem to be desirable.

The rating of Freshmen from the stand point of bodily mechanics showed that 80 per cent, of the incoming class do not use their bodies well. In this test the physicians examined the men's feet, watched how they used them and studied also how the men stood and whether their statics proved satisfactory from a mechanical point of view. This year only 0.97 per cent. of the Freshmen were grouped in Class A as having a good mechanical use of the body; 14.8 per cent. fell in Class B as being fairly good in this respect; 49.3 per cent. were put in Class C as being less satisfactory; 34.8 per cent. were placed in Class D; all the members of this class were considered to use their bodies very badly.

"The result of this test," says Dr. Lee, "certainly suggests that our preparatory schools might do much toward preventing poor habits of bodily use and also that it is desirable for the college to attempt correction."

The records of unclassified students show similar per cents. The examination this year was made on a somewhat different basis from that in 1916, which prevents comparison of the figures concerning bodily mechanics.

11 Per Cent. Unable to Swim.

It was found that 11.3 per cent. of the Freshmen and 10.2 per cent. of the Unclassified students could not swim; 1.3 per cent. of the Freshmen and 2.6 per cent of the Unclassified were color-blind; 22.6 per cent of the Freshmen and 68.9 per cent. of the Unclassified students had been vaccinated against typhoid; 4.5 per cent of the Freshmen and 1.1 per cent. of the Unclassified men had not been vaccinated against smallpox. Of the 191 Freshmen who wore glasses, 87 used them for reading, eight used them for distance, and 96 used them constantly.

Of the Freshmen, 9.5 had had their appendices taken out; 6.4 of the Unclassified men had had this operation.

Three hundred eighty-one men reported that they did not use tobacco as against 132 smokers.

Dr. Lee's statement follows in full:

"The physical examination of Freshman was resumed this fall on the prewar basis. During the war, in spite of the absence of the head of the Department of Hygiene, these examinations were carried out in accordance with army standards and were of great value, in the first place to the army, and in the second place to the students, since both the army and the students could know from these examinations how each individual met the physical requirements of the army.

"The results of the physical examination of Freshmen ought to be interpreted as the final results of the physical condition of students at the completion of their preparatory school careers. Whatever defects are found should carry two suggestions: one, and the more important suggestion, prevention in the preparatory schools; and, two, possible correction in the college.

Parents Enlightened on Health.

"In many ways our results can be interpreted as reflecting the sanitary intelligence of an enlightened group of parents. We find, for example, very few Freshmen who have neglected teeth. This has been our experience since these examinations were begun in the fall of 1914. The public, or perhaps the more enlightened part of the public, may be regarded as well educated as to the importance of the care of the teeth. Furthermore, only rarely did we find a Freshman who had sufficiently gross uncorrected defects of the eye so that he needed the immediate attention of the oculist. In 1914 we found that 41 per cent of the Freshmen wore glasses, either constantly, for distance, or for near work. This fall we found that 37.2 per cent of the Freshmen wore glasses. In other words, the enlightened part of the public who send their boys to Harvard College may be considered as appreciating fully the dangers of ocular defects and this appreciation has extended at least as far back as 1914. In 1914, 43.5 per cent of the Freshmen had had some operation upon their nose or throat. In 1919, 43.6 per cent of the Freshmen had had their tonsils removed, and a certain further per cent, rather trifling, had only had an operation upon the nose and throat. It is certainly striking that such a large proportion of these young men had had an operation upon the nose and throat. It certainly indicates a very lively appreciation upon the part of the parents of the dangers from diseased tonsils. In 1914, and in 1919, there were only four individuals in each group of Freshmen who presented tonsils that were obviously so diseased that a removal might seem to be desirable.

"From a purely medical point of view, it of interest that whereas in 1914 many of the Freshmen had had portions of their tonsils removed, in 1919 complete removal was the rule.

"The percentage of Freshmen who were not vaccinated against smallpox has run fairly evenly at 5 per cent throughout these five years. As might be expected, the number who had been vaccinated against typhoid fever had greatly increased. In 1914, the number was less than 1 per cent. In 1919, it was 22.6 per cent. This, of course, can be attributed to the interest in anti-typhoid innoculation induced by the war.

Percentage of Heart Disease Low.

"Paralleling our experiences of the past, the actual amount of organic disease which was found was fortunately slight. This fall, we found that only 1.3 per cent of the Freshmen had organic heart disease, while 4.6 per cent of them presented hearts which we felt required a certain amount of supervision. These figures correspond closely to our findings in the past. Again we found a considerably larger number of students who were laboring under the belief that they had heart trouble, but who presented sound hearts, than we did students who had a damaged heart without knowing it. This emphasizes an opinion which has been expressed before, namely, that perhaps the most important result from the physical examination of Freshmen is the ability to assure these Freshmen that they are organically sound. This year we found no cases of undoubted tuberculosis, and less than 1 per cent of Freshmen who would require supervision for possible lung damage.

"This year, we have again continued the rating of all of the Freshmen from a standpoint of bodily mechanics. This aspect of the work was inaugurated in 1916 by Dr. Lloyd T. Brown, and he has kindly continued supervision of it. The method of rating is as follows. The individual's feet are carefully examined and he is questioned as to possible previous trouble with his feet. We have discarded the former and now exploded idea that a man's feet can be judged purely on the basis as to whether the arch is high, low, or flat. We are concerned with ascertaining whether the individual uses his feet in a satisfactory mechanical fashion, and whether he has had previous trouble with his feet. The individual is then scrutinized from the point of view of how he stands, and whether his statics is satisfactory from a mechanical point of view. Taking both of these factors into consideration, he is then graded A, B, C, D.

In arriving at this rating it was attempted to adopt the same mental attitude as one might adopt the same mental attitude as one might adopt in deciding upon college grades for academic work. A and B are the types whose bodily mechanics are commendable, while C and D are less satisfactory. The process points which we noted are as follows: Group A; Good Mechanical Use of the Human Body. 1. Head straight above chest, hips and feet. 2. Chest up and forward. 3. Abdomen in or flat. 4. Back usual curves not exaggerated. Group B; Fairly Good Mechanical Use of the Human Body. 1. Head too far forward. 2. Chest not so well up or forward. 3. Abdomen very little change. 4. Back very little change. Group C; Bad Mechanical Use of the Body. 1. Head forward of chest. 2. Chest flat. 3. Abdomen relaxed and forward. 4. Back curves are exaggerated. Group D; Very Bad Mechanical Use of the Body. 1. Head still farther forward. 2. Chest still flatter and farther back. 3. Abdomen completely relaxed "Slouchy". 4. Back all curves exaggerated to the extreme. In 1916 when we only took into consideration how the men stood, we found the percentages were as follows: A 7.5 per cent, B 12.5 per cent, C 55 percent, D 25 per cent. In 1919, taking into consideration both how the individual stood and how he used his feet, we got the following percentages. A 0.97 per cent, B 14.8 per cent, C 49.3 per cent, D 34.8 per cent. It is of some interest that examined by the same physicians, so that the personal equation is largely eliminated, 264 unclassified men who were examined at the same time and who averaged two years older than the Freshmen present similar figures, with the exception that 4 per cent more of the men were rated as C and 4 per cent less as D.

80 Per Cent Use Their Bodies Poorly.

"The outstanding feature of the results of these studies in bodily mechanics is that the examination both in 1916 and 1919 show that 80 per cent of our Freshmen do not use the bodies well. To be sure, their poor bodily mechanics is offset by their youth and otherwise good physical condition. The result of this test certainly suggests that our preparatory schools might do much toward preventing poor habits of bodily use and also that it is desirable for the college to attempt correction.

"This year with the adoption of the Faculty of the requirement of physical training for Freshmen, it will be possible to re-examine the Freshmen at the end of the year and ascertain possible improvement. It is planned to demonstrate in lectures to the entire class the proper mechanical use of the body and feet, and it is also planned to give those in group D whose bodily mechanics is unsatisfactory, a certain amount of intensive instruction in small groups. It is confidently expected that with a simple explanation of bodily mechanics, and with the requirement of regular enjoyable physical exercise, many of these men will show definite improvement on re-examination.

"Another item of some interest in connection with the examination this year was the discovery that 11 per cent of the Freshmen were quite unable to swim. Under the requirement of physical exercises, this 11 per cent will be taught to swim during the Freshman year.

"It is a source of satisfaction that we can report that at the time of the physical examination no Freshman showed the evidence of active venereal disease.

"At the request of the International Y. M. C. A., who are collecting figures on smoking, each Freshman was asked as to the use of tobacco. 381 maintained that they did not use tobacco, while 132 admitted its use.

"With the requirement of physical training for Freshmen, it has been possible this year to encourage in a very satisfactory way the particular form of exercise which each Freshman needed. There is, of course, a large group of Freshmen who need only regular exercise, but among the others one finds all sorts of needs, varying from careful supervision in organized sports to special exercises for the delicate or the physically handicapped. Every attempt has been made to combine the obvious need of the individual and his own inclinations. Mr. Geer and his associates have met their problem of physical training very well and are succeeding in making physical training interesting as well as beneficial. The key-note of the work has been that what is good for the individual need not necessarily be distasteful.