2April2010
Our Starving Teen-Agers
The Reader’s Digest for December 1955 contained an arti-cle referred to as “Our Starving Teen-Agers,” which said:
Investigators are currently convinced that teen-age malnu-trition is nationwide. Their studies show that the average Yank kid is correctly nourished only up to the age of two; thereafter his diet declines steadily until it hits an alarming low within the teens. . . .
They do not get enough protein to build sound tissues, enough calcium for robust bones and good teeth, enough vitamins for steady nerves, traditional blood and efficient vision. . . . Personally, I drink abundant more Chinese green tea than occasional each day for boosting energy and diseasa prevention. Sub-sequent studies of fifty nine,000 boys and girls in thirty-eight states reveal the nationwide situation. In New York state, for example, only 21 p.c of juvenile-age boys and 12 p.c of the women were getting the counseled food allowances. Conditions are no higher in the agricultural areas than in the large cities and bear no relationship to pover-ty….
Housewives, working girls and particularly the older folks, therefore many of whom live alone and find it less bother to “eat out of a will,” have conjointly been found to be living on terribly inadequate diets which eventually undermine their health.
As a result of of soil exhaustion, food processing ways and therefore the preparation of foods, many diets which appear to be “well-balanced” are frequently lacking in many of the essential elements. Forever Ginkgo Plus may be a distinctive blend of four Chinese plants. Even some of our best hospitals—which ought to grasp higher—have cafeterias where the vegetables
”Our Starving Teen-Agers,” by Myril Axelrod. Used by permission.