A CRITIQUE OF THE BODY-SURFACE LAW. 



165 



Heat-production per square meter of body-surface by Meeh formula : 



68 Original women 772.397 5.184 calories. 



35 Supplementary women 715.057 =*= 10.004 calories. 



Difference 57.34011.267 calories. 



Heat-production per square meter of body-surface by Du Bois height-weight chart: 



68 Original women 865.324 5.317 calories. 



35 Supplementary women 820.257 10.410 calories. 



Difference 45.067 11.690 calories. 



The agreement of the means for the two series of women is not as 

 good as that for the two series of men. Possibly this is partly due to 

 the fact that the larger female series has only about as many individuals 

 as the smaller male series, while the smaller female series comprises 

 only about half as many individuals as the smaller of the two male 

 series. Whatever the cause of the difference in the two female series, 

 the consequence must necessarily be a larger error of prediction than in 

 the case of males. 



TABLE 57. Comparison of actual heat-production and heat-production calculated (a) from the 



mean heat per kilogram of body-weight and (b) from the equation for the regression 



of total heat on body-weight in the Gephart and Du Bois selection. 



Multiplying body-weight and body-surface by the two formulas 

 by these values, we obtain the predicted values. Upon a comparison 

 of the computed values with those obtained by actual measurement, 

 we may base our conclusions concerning the relative merit of various 

 methods of prediction. 



The arithmetical routine is naturally somewhat extensive. It will 

 be illustrated for only the smallest series the 17 men omitted by 

 Gephart and Du Bois from the original Nutrition Laboratory series. 

 The actual and calculated values and their differences are given for the 

 individual subjects in the third, fourth, and fifth sections of tables 57-59. 



