CONSTITUTION 01 DIETS. 
877 
proportion to their body weight, Asiatics doing the Bame amount of work 
as Europeans require a less amount of proteids; indeed, such evidence as 
is forthcoming is rather in favour of the opposite conclusion. 1 
The following table (from Hultgren and Lantergren) gives the average 
amounts of the proteids, fats, and carbohydrates in freely chosen diets of 
workmen of different countries, together with the total heat values of such diets : 
Proteid. 
Fat. 
Carbohy- 
drate. 
Kilo- 
calories. 
Moderately 
hard work 
Hard work 
/Russian workmen (Erisman) 
- Munich workmen (Forster) 
1- 
^Swedish workmen (H. and L.) . 
Swedish workmen (H. and L.) . 
131-8 
131-9 
134-4 
189 
79-7 
81-5 
79-4 
no 
583-8 
457 "4 
522-S 
714 
3675-2 
3174-1 
3436 
4726 
With these may be compared the following :- 
Soldiers on active service (Voit) 
Proteid. 
145 
Fat. 
100 
Carbohy- 
drate. 
500 
Kilo- 
calories. 
3574-5 
The average proportion of proteid to non-nitrogenous constituents of the 
food is given by Hultgren and Lantergren at 1 : 4 - 27 by weight, and 1 : 4-95 
by heat value ; of fat to carbohydrate at 1 : 634 by weight, and 1 : 2 - 80 by 
heat value. 
The manner in which the proteid and non-proteid constituents of 
the diet are most advantageously taken into the body, or, in other words, 
the constitution of dietaries, forms a subject belonging more properly to 
the domain of personal hygiene. It would, moreover, occupy far too 
much space to discuss at all adequately the constitution of diets of 
different people and in different countries. It is sufficient to state 
that under ordinary circumstances the proteids are taken in such 
forms as flesh, egg, and cheese, bread and other cereals, and leguminous 
foods, the fat in the form of meat-fat and butter, and the carbo- 
hydrate in the form of starch or cane-sugar derived from or contained 
in vegetable food. With a purely vegetarian diet the proteid 
of the food may be derived largely from the leguminous plants and 
to a somewhat less extent from the cereals, and the fat from the seeds 
of plants. 2 We may now proceed to consider the effects upon nutrition 
of some of the more important constituents of the diet. 
1 Cf. Kumagawa, Virchoirs Arckiv, 1889, Bd. cxvi. S. 370 ; Kellner and Mori, Ztschr. 
f. Biol., Miinchen, 1889, Bd. xxv. S. 102; I. Munk, ibid., 1893, Bd. cxxxii. S. 91. 
2 For statistics concerning diet see J. Ranke, "Die Ernahrung des Menschen," 
Miinchen, 1876; C. Voit in Hermann's "Handbuch," Bd. vi. ( " Physiologie des 
allgemeinen Stoffwechsels und der Ernahrung"), Leipzig. 1881; Konig, "Chem. d. 
menschl. Xahrungs-u. Genussmittel," Berlin, 1882, Aufl. 2 ; I. Munk and Uffelmann, 
"Ernahrung des Menschen," Wien u. Leipzig, 1887, in which also the literature of the 
subject up to that date will be found ; Scheube, Mitth. d. deutsch. Gcsellsch.f. Kat.-u. Vollrrl: 
Ostasieas, Yokohama, 1882, No. 24, and^4?-c/i./. Hyg., Mam hen u. Leipzig, 18S4, Bd. i. S. 
352 (diet of Japanese) ; Hultgren and Lantergren, "Untersuch. ii. d. Ernahr. Schwedischer 
Arbeitern," Stockholm, 1891 : Studemund, Arch. f. d. gcs. Physiol., Bonn, 1891, Bd. xlviii. 
S.578 ; Ohlmuller, Ztschr. f. Biol, Mimchen. 1884, Bd. xviii. S. 393; G. Bunge, "DerYege- 
tarianismus," Berlin, 1885; Kumagawa, Virchoic's Archir, 1889, Bd. cxvi. S. 370; Albertoni 
and Novi, Arch.f. d. ges. Physiol., Bonn, 1894, Bd. lvi. S. 213 (criticised by Hultgren, ibid., 
1895. Bd. lx. S. 205). Diet statistics will also be found in most text-books of physiology. 
