The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1875-11-18
The Relation OF Food to Work.


DR.. Du Chaumont in recent lecture
an absence of any satisfactory theory as to
the relation of food to work, and it was
supposed that bodily force was due to 4
chemical change In the muscles them
selves, and that heterogeneous matter in
food repaired the waste. But the re-
searches of Joule, Playfair, FARMLAND
and others ON the conservation of energy
have led to the conclusion that active
force is produced chiefly by the potential
energy stored up in the carboniferous
food and set free by oxidation. Hence it
was seen that to credit the chemical
changes in the muscles with the origina-
ton of force in the body was not more
philosophical than to credit the force ex-
erted by a eam-engine to the wearin 9
away of its wheels and pistons.
The lecturer then proceeded through a
large number of elaborate calculations,
based upon actual observation, for the
purpose OF showing the ordinary amount
OF productive work of which a man of
average height is capable, and its equiva-
lent in foot tons-a foot ton representing
the amount of force required to raise one
ton one foot high: 1t appears that the
work done in walking three miles an
hour is equal to about one-tenth the work
done by direct ascent. Three hundred
foot tons is fair days work for man of
average height This would be equiva-
lent to walking fifteen miles in a little
over five hours. A hard days work
would he equivalent to walking twenty
four miles in eight hours. Dr.. Parkcs
mentions an extreme case in which a man
In a copper mill did as much as 1928 foot
tons in day, his average work being
443 foot ions. The ordinary work Of
a military prisoner is 80 foot TONS
The velocity at which work was done,
ana the consequent resistance, greatly af.
feet tue quantity of potential energy re-
luircd for its accomplishment. For tbs
production OF any amount of what may be
termed productive work a much larger
amount of potential energy has to be ex-
pended. Prof. Haughton, of L lblin, has
calculated that, Of the tota potential
energy produced in the body, 26O foot
tons are required for the action of the
heart. Then the animal heat absorbs from
1000 to 1850 foot tons, or more.
According to Helmholtz, about five
times as much energy is used in the inter-
nal work OF the body as is expended in
ordinary productive work In the case of
severe work The proportion of internal
work to productive work is still greater
Surprising the work performed by man
to consist OF walking, the most economical
rate, both as regards the amount of food
required to sustain it and the amount of
potential energy expended on the body
itself, is about three miles an hour. Both
above and below that speed there is a de-
crease in the amount of active work as
compared with the non productive energy.
A man walking fifteen or sixteen miles a
day, or doing an equivalent amount of
work in another fern, would require %
ozs. Of food, composed of albuminates 4.6
ozs., fat 3 ozs., starch 143 o., and salts
IL ozs. This would yield potential
energy of 4, 43O foot tons, and 800 foot
tons for productive work. A mere sub
sistence diet for man at rest would be Is
ozs., but with this amount a man would
lose weight. About 1000 foot tons day
of potential energy is about the greatest
amount which is possible as pcrmancncy.
This would yield 600 foot tons of produc-
tive work These calculations apply only
to men in NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. american.