274 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON. 



Metabolism of young girls. — The basal metabolism of normal girls 

 from 12 to 17 years of age has thus far received but little attention. 

 As a contribution to our extended investigation on the basal metabol- 

 ism of humans of both sexes from birth to old age, a study of that period 

 of girlhood was especially needed. Taking advantage of the now 

 thoroughly established and well-tested gi-oup method of study, we made 

 observations on nine groups of girls, usually 12 in each group, in the 

 age-range of 12 to 17 years. To throw especial light upon the influence 

 of maturity as evidenced by the appearance of menstruation, groups 

 of gii'ls of the same age, but differing in maturity, were studied. The 

 whole research was made possible by the interest of Mrs. James J. 

 Storrow, commissioner of the Massachusetts Council of Girl Scouts, 

 and especially through the active cooperation of the numerous scout 

 leaders, particularly Miss Alice Sandiford. The girls volunteered freely 

 for these tests, and thereby have materially added to our knowledge 

 of the physiology of normal girlhood. The results are ready for 

 pubhcation. The research was carried out with the cooperation of 

 Miss Mary F. Hendry and Miss Marion L. Baker. 



PUBLICATIONS. 

 The following publications have been issued during the present year: 



(1) The caloric requirements of normal infants and children from birth to puberty. Fritz 



B. Talbot. Journ. Diseases of Children, 18, 229 (1919). 



Using in large part the fundamental observations of the basal metabolism 

 in studies made by the Nutrition Laboratory at the Massachusetts Boston 

 Directory for Wet-Nurses and at the New England Home for Little Wanderers, 

 Dr. Talbot has considered the relationship between the actual body-weight of 

 children during the first year of life, the total caloric content of their food, the 

 basal metabohsm, the energy required for muscular activity and for growth, 

 and the energy lost in the excreta. The hj^othetical effects on growth of a 

 decrease in the food-supply, diarrhea, fever, and excessive muscular activity 

 are illustrated by a series of instructive charts. 



(2) The basal metabolism of boys from 1 to 13 years of age. Francis G. Benedict. Proc. 



Nat. Acad. Sci., 6, 7 (1920). 



From the measurements of basal metabolism of 60 boys under 10 kg. in 

 weight and of 68 boys above 10 kg,, a chart was prepared through which a line 

 representing the general trend of metabolism was drawn. On the whole, the 

 points for the boys weighing over 10 kg. were found to be more closely grouped 

 about the hne representing the general tendency than those for the boys UDder 

 10 kg. For the latter the average plus or minus deviation of predicted from 

 actual was somewhat over 8 per cent. With the 68 values for boys above 10 kg. 

 the predictions were considerably closer, the deviations being on an aver- 

 age 6.3 per cent. Using the basal metabohsm of 136 men, Dr. J. Arthur 

 Harris has derived by biometric analysis a multiple-prediction formula which 

 may be used for predicting the 24-hour basal heat production of men as follows: 



/i=+66.4730-hl3.7516ti;-H5.0033s- 6.7550a. 



