PREVIOUS STUDIES OF THE METABOLISM OF CHILDREN. 19 



the sitting position rather than lying. She finds, also, that her values 

 are much lower than those of Sonden and Tigerstedt. She concludes 

 that the earlier statements that the metabolism is greater per square 

 meter of body-surface with young individuals than with those of full 

 growth are completely proved by her results, which show that the 

 metabolism of boys between 10 and 18 years of age is distinctly greater 

 per square meter of body-surface than that of full-grown adults. The 

 metabolism is, therefore, not dependent solely upon the body-surface, 

 but also upon the age and growth. 



Hellesen, 1915. Laying special emphasis upon the character of the 

 diet, particularly the isodynamic relations between carbohydrates and 

 fats, Hellesen, 1 working in the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria-Haus in 

 Berlin, made two 3-day experiments 9 days apart, in March 1911. 

 As is usual with experiments made in that laboratory, the child was 

 studied for 22 hours out of 24 hours and carbon dioxide and water- 

 vapor alone were measured. As is customary with this type of experi- 

 ment, the carbon-dioxide production for special periods of quiet was 

 not observed. Hence no basal values can be given, and the data are 

 of special interest only in indicating the total 24-hour heat output of a 

 child of this age. From the average of the two experiments, each of 

 three days, it was found that in the first period the child, a male, 

 weighing 6,684 grams, had a heat production per 24 hours of 454.6 

 calories, per kilogram per 24 hours of 68.0 calories, and per square 

 meter of body-surface of 1,245 calories. 2 In the second period the 

 weight was 6,644 grams, the heat per 24 hours 492.4 calories, per 

 kilogram per 24 hours 74.1 calories, and per square meter per 24 hours 

 1,353 calories. 2 



Du Bois, 1916. Subsequent to the classical study of Magnus-Levy 

 and Falk and the data obtained in the Helsingfors laboratory, the 

 next extensive investigation of the basal metabolism of young boys 

 was reported by Du Bois. 3 Using the respiration calorimeter, he 

 studied the carbon-dioxide output, oxygen intake, and direct cal- 

 orimetry of eight boys from 12 years 2 months to 13 years 11 months. 

 For the purpose of obtaining further data regarding the relationship 

 between body-surface and metabolism, the surface areas of the sub- 

 jects were measured by the Du Bois linear formula. So far as the 

 number of subjects is concerned, the experimental plan was very 

 satisfactory, but only one experiment was made with each subject, 

 this usually consisting of two successive 1-hour periods. Du Bois's own 

 figures seem to indicate the futility of this method of experimenta- 

 tion, for they show the following variations in the heat-production 

 per square meter per hour for six of the subjects studied: J.D.D.B., 



1 Hellesen, Nord. Mod. Arkiv, 1915, 48, Nos. 14 and 18. 



2 Computed by us, using the Lissauer formula. 



3 Du Bois, Arch. Internal Med., 1916, 17, p. 887. 



