50 KANSAS ACADEMY OF*SCIENCE. 



and repair the waste, while foods such as the fats and the carbohy- 

 drates are used to keep the body warm and furnish the muscular 

 power to do work. 



In order to measure the value of a food, we adopt as a measure the 

 calorie ; that is, the amount of heat required to raise one pound of water 

 from 0° to 1° centigrade. By this standard, one pound of protein will 

 furnish 1860 calories ; one pound of fat, 4220 calories ; and one pound 

 of carbohydrates, 18(30 calories. In the adjustment of the proportion 

 of these ingredients of the food, it is essential that we provide enough 

 protein to build up and repair the tissues of the body, and enough 

 fats and carbohydrates to keep the body warm and enable it to do its 

 work. 



Professor Voit, of Munich, one of the best authorities on this sub- 

 ject, has placed the standard for ordinary hard, muscular work as .25 

 pound protein, and carbohydrates and fats enough to yield, with the 

 protein, 3050 calories of energy per day. 



Professor Atwater suggests .28 pound of protein per day and a 

 total of 3500 calories of energy for a man engaged in strong muscular 

 labor. Professional men and students in Eurojje do well on .23 pound 

 of protein and enough carbohydrates and fats to make up 2700 calo- 

 ries, but experience shows that in the United States the amounts 

 actually used for this class are larger; in fact, about 3000 calories 

 seem to be required. 



In making calculation of the nutritive values of the food, the quan- 

 tity of fat is multiplied by 2\, as its fuel value is this much higher 

 than the carbohydrates. To this product we add the carbohydrates 

 and divide the sum by the protein. The nutritive ratio should be 

 from 1 : 4.7 to 1 : 6.9. The examination of a large number of dietaries 

 in use in this country shows that there is a tendency to use too much 

 starch, sugar and fat in proportion to the protein. In Europe the 

 quantity of fat is from 1 to 5 ounces per day ; in the United States it 

 is from 4 to 16 ounces per day. Well-to-do professional men in Ger- 

 many use from 3 to 4|- ounces of fat per day, while in the United 

 States the same class of people use from 5 to 7| ounces per day. The 

 carbohydrates amount to from 9 to 24 ounces as used in Europe, but 

 the same class in the United States use from 24 to 60 ounces. The 

 proportion of protein to carbohydrates in Europe is as 1 to 4.1 to 6, 

 while in this country it is as 1 to 6.6-8.2. 



Something over two years ago, I requested one of my students, who 

 was a steward of a student club of forty-six members, to make a dietary 

 study of the food consumed during one month. In making this 

 study, he followed the plan outlined by Professor Atwater in Bulle- 

 tin No. 28 of the United States Department of Agriculture. The 



