During the last decade the subject of the nutrition of older children has been one of the most important and fruitful phases of pediatric study. The question of normal standards of nutrition and the many sided problem of the cause, prevention and management of under-nutrition have been attacked by numerous workers. In all this discussion, however, very little has been said of the other type of abnormal nutrition—the overweight child. This is the more surprising when one considers that obesity has been a subject not only of importance in internal medicine but also of widespread interest to the laity. My own interest has been attracted to the subject through watching the growth and development of a group of more than 200 boys in a private school of the country day type during the last four years, as in this school the overweight boy has been as much of a problem