146 A BIOMETRIC STUDY OF BASAL METABOLISM IN MAN. 



been applied toward the solution of the problem of the relative value 

 of body-weight and of body-surface as a means of correcting for differ- 

 ences in the total metabolism due to differences in the size of the indi- 

 vidual has been the simple determination of the average percentage 

 deviation from the mean value for the whole series of individuals of 

 the measures of heat-production per kilogram of body- weight and per 

 square meter of body-surface. 



Thus Gephart and Du Bois 64 give the values shown in table 48 

 for the percentage deviation of calories per kilogram per hour from 

 the mean number of calories per kilogram per hour and of calories per 

 square meter of body-surface per hour from the mean of calories per 

 square meter of surface per hour. 



TABLE 48. Comparison of percentage variation of heat-production per kilogram 

 of body -weight and per square meter of body-surface. 



The average of the percentage deviations of the individual measures 

 of heat production in terms of calories per kilogram of body-weight 

 from the general mean of this measure is clearly higher than the average 

 of the percentage deviations of the measures in units of calories per 

 square meter of body-surface from the mean of all of the measures by 

 this method. 



The means given by Gephart and Du Bois stand in the ratio of 



8.1 to 4.6. 



If instead of using average deviations without regard to sign, as 

 Gephart and Du Bois have done, we compute the standard deviations 

 and coefficients of variation of the number of calories per kilogram of 

 body-weight and per square meter of body-surface, we find the following 

 values. 



64 Gephart and Du Bois, Arch. Intern. Med., 1915, 15, p. 852. 



