208 VITALITY AND EFFICIENCY WITH RESTRICTED DIET. 



from the Medico-Actuarial Mortality Investigation table, the actual 

 weights on October 7, 1917, when the men first visited Boston, and 

 again on January 6, 1918, just prior to the restriction in diet which 

 began on January 8 (columns b and d) . The differences between these 

 records of actual weights and the normal weights for the age and height 

 of the subjects are given in columns c and e. The individual members 

 of Squad B changed slightly as the experiment progressed, Kim and 

 Sch joining the group just prior to diet restriction; no body-weights 

 for these two subjects are therefore given for October 7. 



Comparing the differences between the weights on October 7 and 

 January 6 for those who were weighed on the first date, we find that 

 the tendency was for the entire squad to gain in weight during this 

 period, the average for 10 men being 1.25 kg. (see column /). Only 

 one man. Ham, showed a loss, but the difference was insignificant, 

 being but 0.2 kg. The largest increase was that of Liv (3.1 kg.). 



The tendency for the men to increase in weight during the first part 

 of the academic year is in accordance with the opinion previously 

 expressed by Professor Berry and others of the college faculty. This 

 normal increase in weight is of special significance here, for it shows 

 that the men in Squad B, when they began the reduced diet in January, 

 were at a perceptibly higher level than if they had taken the low diet 

 early in the fall. In other words, their body-reserves were considerably 

 greater on January 6 than they were on October 7. Unfortunately, 

 the character of these body-reserves is unknown to us. Whether 

 the storage of nitrogen was greater, the difference in weight was chiefly 

 fat, or there was a material increase in the glycogen storage can not 

 be inferred from our data. This remains one of the important problems 

 for future solution. The fact that the general picture exhibited by 

 Squad B as to the total effect of a rapid reduction in diet and weight 

 is essentially the same as that of Squad A is of unusual interest, viewed 

 from the standpoint of normally existing larger body-reserves. But 

 two men in Squad B were distinctly under normal weight on January 

 6, these being Kim, with a deficiency of 4.4 kg., and Tho, with a de- 

 ficiency of 4.8 kg. (See column e.) Lon and Har were but little over 

 normal weight. On the other hand, Fis, How, Ham, Sch, Liv, Sne, and 

 Wil were all 4 or more kilograms overweight, the greatest excess weight 

 being found with Liv (11.8 kg.). 



NORMALITY OF MINIMUM BODY-WEIGHTS. 



Finally, it is of interest to compare the body-weight of the men at 

 the end of the reduction periods with the normal standards to find 

 what proportion of the men after a prolonged reduction in diet would 

 be classed as underweights according to the Medico-Actuarial Mor- 

 tality Investigation standards. This comparison is also shown in tables 

 9 and 10. For this purpose the body-weights given for the subjects are 



