﻿44 
  

  

  A 
  Preliminary 
  Study 
  of 
  the 
  Energy 
  Expenditure 
  and 
  Food 
  

   Requirements 
  of 
  Women 
  Workers. 
  

   By 
  0. 
  Rosenheim. 
  

  

  (Communicated 
  by 
  the 
  Eoy. 
  Soc. 
  Food 
  (War) 
  Committee. 
  Eeceived 
  April 
  9, 
  1919.) 
  

  

  The 
  large 
  share 
  which 
  women 
  have 
  taken 
  during 
  the 
  war 
  in 
  industrial 
  

   work 
  has 
  brought 
  out 
  the 
  importance 
  of 
  possessing 
  reliable 
  data 
  on 
  which 
  to 
  

   base 
  a 
  fair 
  assessment 
  of 
  their 
  share 
  in 
  the 
  available 
  food 
  supply, 
  and 
  has 
  

   also 
  revealed 
  the 
  paucity 
  of 
  our 
  knowledge 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  energy 
  

   expenditure 
  of 
  women 
  workers 
  under 
  factory 
  conditions.* 
  

  

  The 
  food 
  requirements 
  of 
  manual 
  workers 
  are 
  obviously 
  to 
  the 
  largest 
  

   extent 
  dependent 
  on 
  the 
  energy 
  expenditure 
  of 
  the 
  individual. 
  A 
  scientific 
  

   system 
  of 
  assessing 
  this 
  expenditure, 
  expressed 
  in 
  calories, 
  may 
  be 
  based 
  on 
  

   two 
  methods. 
  In 
  the 
  first, 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  the 
  statistical 
  method, 
  we 
  

   arrive 
  at 
  the 
  result 
  by 
  indirect 
  means. 
  The 
  actual 
  amounts 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  

   foodstuffs 
  consumed 
  by 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  workers 
  are 
  weighed, 
  and 
  from 
  

   their 
  contents 
  in 
  proteins, 
  fats 
  and 
  carbohydrates, 
  the 
  energy 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  

   food 
  consumed 
  is 
  calculated. 
  The 
  second 
  method, 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  the 
  

   direct 
  method, 
  aims 
  at 
  the 
  direct 
  determination 
  by 
  suitable 
  methods 
  of 
  the 
  

   energy 
  expenditure 
  of 
  the 
  worker 
  during 
  sleep, 
  recreation, 
  and 
  work. 
  This 
  

   procedure 
  is 
  a 
  priori 
  preferable 
  to 
  the 
  statistical 
  one, 
  but 
  owing 
  to 
  inherent 
  

   practical 
  difficulties, 
  it 
  has 
  not 
  so 
  far 
  been 
  applied 
  to 
  industrial 
  workers. 
  It 
  

   is 
  obvious 
  that 
  the 
  complicated 
  and 
  expensive 
  installations 
  necessary 
  for 
  

   direct 
  calorimetry 
  are 
  unsuitable 
  for 
  work 
  under 
  factory 
  conditions. 
  It 
  was 
  

   possible, 
  however, 
  to 
  make 
  use 
  in 
  the 
  workshop 
  of 
  the 
  method 
  of 
  indirect 
  

   calorimetry, 
  the 
  general 
  application 
  of 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  so 
  greatly 
  extended 
  by 
  

   the 
  introduction 
  of 
  the 
  Douglas 
  bag 
  method.! 
  

  

  An 
  opportunity 
  for 
  carrying 
  out 
  such 
  an 
  investigation 
  was 
  afforded 
  by 
  the 
  

   establishment 
  of 
  a 
  Training 
  School 
  for 
  Munition 
  Workers 
  at 
  King's 
  College, 
  

   London, 
  under 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  Prof. 
  A. 
  H. 
  Jameson, 
  Professor 
  of 
  Civil 
  

   Engineering. 
  The 
  following 
  report 
  of 
  a 
  research, 
  which 
  was 
  undertaken 
  at 
  

   Dr. 
  Cathcart's 
  suggestion, 
  as 
  the 
  first 
  of 
  a 
  series, 
  deals 
  with 
  women 
  per- 
  

   forming 
  lathe 
  work 
  only. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  experiments 
  were, 
  unfortunately, 
  

  

  * 
  Only 
  in 
  two 
  cases 
  has 
  the 
  energy 
  metabolism 
  of 
  women 
  workers 
  been 
  investigated, 
  

   namely 
  that 
  of 
  typists, 
  by 
  Carpenter 
  (' 
  Journ. 
  Biol. 
  Chem.,' 
  vol. 
  9, 
  p. 
  231 
  (1911)), 
  

   and 
  that 
  of 
  women 
  occupied 
  in 
  sewing, 
  housework, 
  washing, 
  etc., 
  by 
  Becker 
  and 
  

   Hamalainen 
  (' 
  Skand. 
  Arch, 
  of 
  Physiol.,' 
  vol. 
  31, 
  p. 
  198 
  (1914)). 
  The 
  conditions 
  in 
  both 
  

   cases 
  were 
  not 
  such 
  as 
  obtain 
  in 
  factories. 
  

  

  t 
  'Journ. 
  Physiol.,' 
  vol. 
  63, 
  p. 
  xvii 
  (Proc.) 
  (1911). 
  

  

  