390 ISIDOR GKEENWALD 



The effects of season and of climate upon the energy content of the 

 food may therefore be neglected except as they may affect the body weight 

 or conduce to, or be unfavorable to, muscular activity. 



Relation of Body Weight to Food Consumption. The basal metabol- 

 ism is roughly proportional to the body weight (Harris and Benedict) 

 and, consequently, so is the energy content of the quota of food needed to 

 satisfy this requirement. 



The increase in metabolism due to the ingestion of food depends upon 

 the amount and nature of the food consumed, the nature of the individual 

 and iipon other factors which seem to make it vary from time to time in 

 the same individual with the same kind of food (Benedict and Carpenter). 

 But this constitutes only a small part of the total metabolism and may 

 therefore also be considered as proportional to the body weight. 



The same relation holds for the amount of energy required to move 

 the body about. That required to supply energy for external work varies 

 with the nature and amount of the work to be performed and with the 

 muscular efficiency of the individual. But it is probable that, as a rule, 

 in occupations involving much muscular work, the individual weighing 

 considerably less than 70 kilos (154 pounds) will do less than one of that, 

 or slightly greater, weight. 



Except in the case of individuals of unusual body form, the total 

 metabolism and, consequently, the food requirements of adults leading 

 about the same kind of life may, therefore, be expected to be propor- 

 tional to the body weight. With much greater body weights, the propor- 

 tionality can no longer be expected to hold for an ever increasing part of 

 the weight is contributed by the comparatively inactive adipose tissue. 

 And this, in truth, is usually found to be the case. Selecting from Table 

 IV, groups within which other factors may be considered to be relatively 

 constant and consulting the original publications for the data, we obtain 

 the following figures for the food consumption in calories per kilo of body 

 weight : 



Demuth, 3 pensioners, light work, 47, 46, 41 Average 45 



Yukawa, Japanese celibate monks, young, no 

 work, 36.5, 50.0, 41.6, 39.0, 36.3, 40.1, 23.9, 

 34.1, " 37.7 



old, no work, 37.9, 35.6, 35.0 " 36,2 



Eijkmaii (1893), European physicians, etc., in 

 Java, 32.2, 38.7, 32.0, 44.9, 36.6, 30.5, 31.5, 

 33.3 " 35.0 



Eijkman, Malay laboratory servants, 49.6, 41.7, 



55.4, 55.8 " 50.6 



Hultgren and Landergren, Swedish students, 40.9, 



48.4, 44.2, 38.1, 46.8 " 43.7 



