SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 695 



beginning of the experiment showed a normal basal metabolism per- 

 ceptibly higher on the average than that predicted for men of equal 

 weight, height, and age, at the end of the test they all showed striking- 

 ly lower values than the predicted values from the analysis of a large 

 group of normal people. Under the circumstances, therefore, the evi- 

 dence is clear that the reduction in basal metabolism is a real one. The 

 fact that the body-weight index implied a maintenance caloric require- 

 ment over one-third or nearly one-half that prior to diet reduction, 

 while the gaseous metabolism suggests a lowering approximating only 

 15 to 20 per cent, is somewhat difficult to explain other than on the 

 ground that the body-weight data used for comparison were for alto- 

 gether too short a period. From an analysis of the chart it can be seen 

 that the influence of the reduced diet on all factors was a progressive 

 one, with a rather rapid effect shortly after the reduction in diet began, 

 and a tendency towards constancy coincident with constancy in body- 

 weight. 



Emphasis throughout this entire monograph has been laid upon the 

 basal metabolism. We have not infrequently been taken to task by 

 thoughtless critics of previous reports, who have maintained that the 

 basal metabolism should be expressed only in periods of minutes or 

 hours, and the length of time for which it should be expressed is deter- 

 mined solely by the length of the experimental period upon which the 

 measurement is made. In the last analysis the basal metabolism of a 

 given individual is the most important factor in his energy transforma- 

 tions for the 24 hours. If this is once known, the superimposed values 

 for activities greater than lying are readily and with reasonable accu- 

 racy computed. It thus becomes of special interest to compute the 

 probable daily caloric requirement of this group of men at the end of 

 their diet test. For this purpose we have computed the values for the 

 last 3 days and give the results in table 202. From this it can be 



Table 202. — Calculation of probable average heat output per 24 hours during last three days 



of experiment — Squad A. 



cats. 



Basal heat per 24 hours (computed)" 1,367 



"Cost of digestion" (2,486 cals.^ X '=0.06) 149 



Heat output due to sitting (<*11 hrs. X X*0.10) 63 



24 



Heat output due to walking (^.7 miles X''56) 375 



Heat output due to exercise greater than walking {<^1 hr. X X*4.00) 228 



24 



Total 2,182 



Average net calories per day* 2,245 



"See table 128. 



^Computed from tables 46 to 58. 



'Benedict and Carpenter, Carnegie Inst. Wash. Pub. No. 261, 1918, p. 343. 



''Computed from table 194. 



^Increase in heat output above basal for exercise greater than walking and for sitting assumed 



to be 400 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. 

 ^Computed from daily records of walking (pedometer). 

 ^Heat output above basal per mile of level walking; computed from data in tables 142 and 128. 



