526 VITALITY AND EFFICIENCY WITH RESTRICTED DIET. 



oxygen consumption was 242 c.c, the highest value for the oxygen 

 consumption obtained for this subject with the respiratory-valve 

 apparatus in this research. Prior to this experiment the oxygen con- 

 sumption was (October 24) 206 c.c. Before the reduction in diet, 

 the one value obtained with Pec on the respiratory-valve apparatus 

 (October 3) showed but 219 c.c. 



The great increase in the oxygen consumption after the men returned 

 to college in January is, however, of still more significance. The values 

 for the oxygen consumption for the men in Squad A before and after 

 the Christmas holidays have been collected and tabulated in table 

 135, in which it is seen that 



in every instance there was Table \Zb.— Effect of overeating upon the oxygen 

 . , 11. consumption of Squad A . 



a very considerable mcrease 

 in the oxygen consumption 

 after the Christmas recess. 

 The maximum increase was 

 found with Gar of 35 c.c. 

 per minute; the minimum 

 was with Kon of 10 c.c. per 

 minute. 



It is also of interest to 

 compare these increments in 

 the oxygen-consumption level 

 after the return from the 

 Christmas vacation with the 

 initial oxygen values. The 

 latter are given in the last 

 column of table 135. With 

 one subject, Moy, the oxygen 

 consumption on the return 



to college is actually higher than it was at the beginning of the 

 year, being 229 c.c. after Christmas as against the initial value of 

 209 c.c. With Tom the difference was only 6 c.c. per minute. With 

 all others the post-Christmas value was at least 15 c.c. less than the 

 initial oxygen measurement. It is clear, therefore, from this table 

 that the period of free eating during the Christmas holidays, possibly 

 in conjunction with other factors, such as freedom from college activi- 

 ties and anxieties, contributed materially towards increasing the 

 oxygen consumption. The gaseous metabolism curves show, however, 

 that the oxygen consumption rapidly decreased after the rise following 

 the Christmas period. 



The stimulus to the metabohc activity as a result of these periods of 

 excess feeding was thus greatly increased. It is regrettable that a con- 

 trol of these subjects was not possible during this period, or, in the 

 absence of strict dietetic control, at least an exact knowledge obtained 

 of the total output of nitrogen in the urine. 



