NOURISHMENT FOR A HEALTHY ADULT. 437 



The following figures are average values derived from many individual ob- 

 servations : 



An adult requires in 24 hours: 



Resting Moderate Work Hard Work (v. Pettenkofer 

 Air.ount of Food in Grams. (Playfair). (Moleschott). (Playfair). and v. Voit.) 



Proteids, 70-87 130 155.92 137 



Fats, 28.35 84 70.87 117 



Carbohydrates (sugar, starch, etc.) , 310.20 404 567.50 352 



In an analogous example taken from C. v. Vierordt the elementary matters 

 in the food will be estimated and at the same time the amounts ingested be com- 

 pared with those excreted. 



An adult with moderate activity consumes: 



C H N O 



120 grams of albumin, containing, 64.18 8.60 18.88 28.34 



90 grams of fats, 70.20 10.26 9-54 



330 grams of starch, 146.82 20.33 162.85 



281.20 39.19 18.88 200.73 



In addition: 744.11 grams of oxygen from the air by respiration. 

 2818 grams of water. 



32 grams of inorganic compounds (salts). 



The whole amounts to about 3.2 kg. or about ^ of the body-weight. Over 

 6 per cent, of the water, about 6 per cent, of the fat, "about i per cent, of the albu- 

 min and about 0.4 per cent, of the salts in the body are thus daily replaced. 



An adult with moderate activity excretes : 



Water C H N O 



With respiration, 330 248.8 . . ? 651.15 



By transpiration, 660 2.6 . . . . 7.2 



In the urine, 1700 9.8 3.3 15.8 n.i 



In the feces, 128 20.0 3.0 3.0 12.0 



2818 281.2 6.3 18.8 681.45 



In addition 296 grams of water not included in the 2818 grams of water in- 

 gested are formed in the body by oxidation of the hydrogen of the food. These 

 296 grams of water contain 34.89 grams of hydrogen and 263.31 grams of oxygen. 

 Further, 26 grams of salts are passed with the urine and 2 grams with the feces. 



An adult at rest consumes during twenty-four hours 96.5 grams of 

 proteid equivalent to 1.46 grams for each kilogram; at hard work, 

 107.6 grams equivalent to 1.6 grams for each kilogram. Three or four 

 times as much fat as albumin is transformed daily. 



Investigations, principally by the Munich school, have determined the fol- 

 lowing minimum figures for the diet at various ages: 



Age. Nitrogenous. Fat. Carbohydrate. 



For a child up to i years, 20-36 gms. 30-45 gms. 60-90 gms. 



250400 

 500 

 400 

 350 

 260 



For a child from 6 to 15 years, 70-80 27-50 



For a man, with moderate activity, 1 18 56 



For a woman, with moderate activity, ... 92 44 



For an old man 100 68 



For an old woman, 80 50 



It is frequently asserted that, in case of necessity, a considerably smaller 

 amount of proteid (55 gms. for a man) would suffice, providing that the amount 

 of food were sufficient to supply the requisite number of calories for the body, 

 that is, 45,000 calories for each kilogram of body- weight. The diet of the Japanese 

 contains, for example, a much smaller amount of nitrogen than that of the Euro- 

 pean. Numerous experiments have demonstrated, however, that an adult 

 weighing 70 kilograms can be sufficiently nourished only temporarily, and not 

 for any length of time, on less than 80 grams of proteid. 



