GASEOUS METABOLISM DURING REST. 501 



November 4 until December 16, which amounted to 3 per cent, and 

 a profound lowering of metabolism on January 6, which amounted to 

 11 per cent per kilogram of body-weight and 9 per cent per square 

 meter of body-surface over the values obtained in the early autumn. 



BASAL METABOLISM DURING DIET RESTRICTION. 



For an index of the influence of diet restriction upon the caloric needs 

 we have taken the basal metaboHsm, i. e., the values obtained with the 

 subject lying quietly, in the post-absorptive condition, since this repre- 

 sents the larger proportion of the total caloric needs for the day. Using 

 precisely the same technique as for the preliminary observation, we 

 determined the basal metabolism nearly every day for members of 

 Squad A throughout the entire period of experimentation, except 

 during the vacations at Thanksgiving and at Christmas. 



INDIVIDUAL MEASUREMENTS OF BASAL METABOLISM WITH LOW DIET. 



SQUAD A. 



The data for the individual members of Squad A for the respiratory 

 exchange during the period of diet restriction, also the computed heat 

 output are collected in tables 115 to 127 inclusive, so that it is possible 

 to trace the course of the respiratory exchange and the basal heat 

 production from day to day throughout the entire experimental 

 period. These values are reported here primarily as oxygen consump- 

 tion per minute, the carbon-dioxide values being omitted to save space. 

 The respiratory quotient, whenever given, indicates that the experi- 

 ment was made for that particular day with the respiratory-valve 

 apparatus. On other days the experiments were made with the 

 portable respiration apparatus. Obviously, if desired, the carbon- 

 dioxide output may be readily computed from the oxygen consump- 

 tion and the respiratory quotient. The pulse-rates are not included 

 in these tables, as they appear in detail in the discussion of the pulse 

 rate. (See p. 384.) The total heat production per 24 hours, the 

 heat per kilogram of body-weight per 24 hours, and the heat per square 

 meter of body-surface per 24 hours are given in these tables. These 

 data give a clear picture for each individual in Squad A of the influence 

 of the restricted diet upon the basal metabolism. 



An inspection of the individual gaseous-metabolism tables for each 

 subject shows a great reduction in the total heat production per 24 

 hours from the beginning to the end of the experiment. This is true 

 with all of the men in Squad A. The reduction in weight averaged 

 not far from 10 per cent. The reduction in the total heat production 

 was considerably more than 10 per cent. Hence we should expect 

 to find a lowering of the heat production per kilogram of body-weight 

 and likewise of the heat production per square meter of body-surface. 

 The values for the heat production on these two bases are recorded 

 in the last two columns of the individual metabolism tables. A 

 superficial inspection of the data for Bro impHes that the heat produc- 



