STANDARD BASAL METABOLISM CONSTANTS. 235 



The most widely divergent individuals are A. C. B. with a metab- 

 olism which is subnormal by 17.6 per cent and K. G. M. with a metab- 

 olism which is supernormal by 14.3 per cent. Of the remaining 29 men 

 only 3 deviate more than 10 per cent from the standard. 



Taking the series as a whole, the average observed heat-production 

 is 1653.35 calories whereas the average calculated heat-production is 

 1661.03 calories. Thus for 31 individuals the average error of our 

 multiple prediction formula is only +7.68 calories per day. This is 

 only +0.46 per cent of the predicted value. If the individual differences 

 between the predicted and the measured daily heat-productions of 

 these men be considered without reference to their sign, i.e., without 

 regard to the fact that some are subnormal while others are super- 

 normal, we find that there is an average difference of 87.87 calories. 

 Thus by the use of our equations we have been able to predict the 

 heat-production of 31 subjects with an average (=*=) error of 5.30 

 per cent. This series may therefore be regarded as quite typical of 

 the standard, and might in consequence be legitimately employed for 

 any rationing or other metabolism experiment. 



Returning to the discrepancy between the series of measurements 

 by Magnus-Levy and Falk and our standard basal constants, we may 

 note that in addition to the two possible explanations suggested above 

 i.e., faulty technique and errors of random sampling in the selection 

 of the subjects another must be considered. It is quite possible that 

 the German and American populations from which these subjects were 

 drawn are differentiated with respect to the magnitude of their metab- 

 olism. Some further light may be thrown upon this question by com- 

 puting the metabolism of the German girls, women, and old women 

 from the equation based on the 136 American men. In doing this we 

 are determining what the heat-productions of these individuals should 

 be if they were American men of like stature, weight, and age. As 

 fully discussed in Chapter VII, comparison of the actual with the theo- 

 retical heat-productions will then show whether German women show 

 a higher or a lower metabolism rate than American men. The results 

 are set forth in table 92. 



Leaving the girls out of consideration for the moment we note that 

 of the 17 women from 17 to 86 years of age all but 5 show a daily heat- 

 production in excess of that computed on male standards. The deficiencies 

 range from 39 to 211 calories with an average of 94.2 calories, 

 whereas the excesses range from +36 to +369 calories with an average 

 of 152.0 calories. For all the women the average daily excess is (1824- 

 471)/17= 79.6 calories. 



Expressing these differences in relative terms, we note that the 

 German women range from 11.8 per cent below to 39.3 per cent above 

 the standard male values. The average for the 5 women who fall 

 below the masculine standard is 5.8 per cent, while the average for the 



