THE ENERGY LOSS OF YOUNG WOMEN DURING THE 

 MUSCULAR ACTIVITY OF LIGHT HOUSEHOLD 



WORK. 



By FRANCIS G. BENEDICT and ALICE JOHNSON. 

 (Read April 24, 19 i9-) 



In the computation of the food requirements of women and chil- 

 dren, certain factors have been applied to the standards for men — 

 factors which have long been established and which are based solely 

 upon differences in body-weight. Since the body-weight of the 

 average woman is but 80 per cent, of the body-weight of the average 

 man, it has been assumed that the food requirements of women are 

 in like proportion. The average energy requirement of the resting 

 woman has been found to be actually 17 per cent, less than that 

 of the average man under the same conditions of muscular repose. 

 Furthermore, studies in the Nutrition Laboratory upon the differ- 

 ences in the need for energy of quiet men and women have shown 

 that with complete muscular repose and absence of food in the 

 stomach, men on an average produce 6.2 per cent, more heat than 

 women of the same age, height, and weight. 



But food requirements are made up of two factors : (a) the food 

 required for the maintenance of the quiet body doing no external 

 work; {h) the excess food needed for the accomplishment of the 

 various daily tasks. Dietary allotments, therefore, deal not only 

 with the basal requirements but also with the very considerable ex- 

 cess food required for the multitudinous daily tasks. The variety of 

 mechanical operations and muscular movements incidental thereto 

 which are engaged in by men is very great ; ultimately the energy 

 requirements for these different operations should be established. 

 It is popularly considered that the muscular activity of the average 

 woman is much less than that of the average man. This is probably 

 true, but as household work in some form or other still remains a 



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