63 



It is ({uite o-enenilly conceded that the dietar}' standards conunonly 

 accepted suggest amounts which experience has shown to be ample 

 under usual circumstances for nourishing the hod}", maintaining it in 

 harmon}^ with its environment, and keeping up its resistance to any 

 unfavorable conditions which may arise. It is recognized that in the 

 cas,e of individuals and groups variations from any such standard will 

 always be found. The variations from the dietary standard observed 

 ii\ the case of these students are interesting, but are, of course, not 

 uniform or numerous enough to warrant any moditication of the stand- 

 ard. If average values per person are considered, it will be seen that 

 the protein supplied was lower and the energy somewhat higher than 

 the quantities called for b}^ the standard, a variation which is in har- 

 mony with the commonly accepted theory that within limits a defi- 

 ciency of protein may be compensated by an increase of energy. 

 When the comparison is based on amounts per kilogram body weight 

 the agreement with the dietary standards is fairly close in the case of 

 protein, whereas the energ}' exceeds the standard. 



As shown by the average results of studies made at a number of 

 American colleges and universities, the diet of the group studied at 

 Harvard furnished considerably less protein and energy than usual. 

 The results reported in the present investigation are obviousl}" too few 

 for sweeping deductions, and probably no one would suggest that the 

 diet of the average student is too large, because the students here 

 studied lived on a diet furnishing smaller amounts of protein and 

 energy. Nature is very accommodating, and there is apparentl}^ 

 always an effort to In-ing the body into harmony with its environment 

 in respect to food and other conditions. In the case of these students 

 and others studied elsewhere there is no means of knowing the effect 

 of the diet on their future health and well-being, or on their subse- 

 quent resistance to disease, or other conditions which would make 

 unusual demands on their physical vigor. Such questions must be 

 taken into account before final conclusions can be reached. 



o 



