Growth retardation in a New Guinea boarding school and its response to supplementary feeding

Abstract

1. Children attending a boarding school in the New Guinea highlands, and receiving a protein-deficient diet of sweet potato and taro showed, when compared with village children, a progressive retardation of growth which was related to the number of years at school.2. Feeding of supplementary protein resulted in a dramatic acceleration of growth in both height and weight, whereas the feeding of extra calories produced an increase in only weight and skinfold thickness.3. This response to protein feeding appears to be greater than previously reported in the literature.