170 A BIOMETRIC STUDY OF BASAL METABOLISM IN MAN. 



Equations based on 72 individuals chosen by Gephart and Du Bois: 

 For total heat on body-weight, h = 565.390 + 16.707 w. 

 For total heat on body-surface by Meeh formula, h = 19.463 +821. 567 a . 

 For total heat on body-surface by Du Bois height-weight chart, 



h = -175.338+1026.1730^. 



Equations based on 64 men not included in the Gephart and Du Bois selection: 

 For total heat on body-weight, h = 641. 261 + 15.392 w. 

 For total heat on body-surface by Meeh formula, h = 126.334 +763.680 a M . 

 For total heat on body-surface by Du Bois height-weight chart, 



ft = -310.884 + 1101. 230 a D . 



Equations based on 68 women of original Nutrition Laboratory series: 

 For total heat on body-weight, h = 781. 408 + 10.522 w. 

 For total heat on body-surface by Meeh formula, ft =461. 758 +506.4280^ 

 For total heat on body-surface by Du Bois height-weight chart, h = 88. 493 +808. 401 a D . 



Equations based on the 35 supplementary women: 



For total heat on body-weight, h = 957.468+6.313 w. 



For total heat on body-surface by Meeh formula, h = 741. 987+316. 101 a^. 



For total heat on body-surface by the Du Bois height-weight chart, 



ft =519.673 +500.252 O D . 



Again we may use the 17 individuals omitted by Gephart and 

 Du Bois from the original Nutrition Laboratory series to illustrate the 

 method of calculation. The values are given in the sixth and seventh 

 columns of tables 57, 58, and 59. Space does not permit the publica- 

 tion of the calculated values and their deviation from the actually 

 observed constants in the other series. 



Before taking up the question of the relative precision of prediction 

 of heat-production from equations based on body-weight and on body- 

 surface by the two formulas, we may consider the relative closeness 

 of prediction by means of average measures in the standard series and 

 by means of equations. In doing this we shall draw the comparisons 

 solely between the results of prediction from means alone and from 

 equations for the same unit of bodily measurement. 



In the tables, 63-65 the differences are given in calories per day 

 and in percentages of the average heat-production of the group of 

 individuals dealt with. The positive sign indicates that the prediction 

 from means gives a larger error, the negative sign that it gives a smaller 

 error than prediction by the use of the regression equation. In com- 

 paring the deviations with regard to sign it has been necessary to con- 

 sider the magnitudes of the deviations only in these difference tables. 

 The differences show, therefore, which method gives the numerically 

 larger average error, but give no information concerning the sign of 

 this error. The latter can, of course, be obtained from tables 60 and 66. 



The differences between the average deviations with regard to sign 

 in table 63 show that in 6 out of the 7 cases prediction by equations 

 based on body-weight gives a smaller average deviation than prediction 

 from mean heat-production per kilogram of body- weight. In the 

 exceptional case the difference is very small (i.e., 4.4 calories or 0.28 

 per cent), whereas in 5 of the 6 cases in which the differences are posi- 



