The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1896-07-09
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Dietary Studies at the University of Ter
neSsec

Dietary Studies at the University of Ten
nessec
OF peculiar interest to the people of
the south, and especially Ct Tennessee
is the report of the dietary studies OF
\ students club and q mechanics
family which haye rece ntiy been made
at the University of Tennessee by
Prot. Chas. E. Wait, under the United
States department OF agriculture. The
results of these studies are published
as bulletin 20 Office of experiment
stations, Of the department OF agricul-
ture. entitled, Dietary Studies at the
University Of Tennessee in 1896"
These Investigations constituted part
OF the inquiries made during that year
with the funds appropriated by con-
gress "to enable the secretary OF agri-
culture to investigate and report upon
the nutritive value of the various ar
ticles and commodities used for human
food." The dietary studies previously
made in the United States had been
mostly confined to the New England
and other northern states, and in
rider that definite information regard
ng the food supply and consumption
of people living under different condl-
tions might be obtained, the Univer-
sity of Tennessee at Knoxville was
elected as a representative place at
which to make these studies under
more particularly southern conditions.
Says the director of the office OF ex-
pertinent stations in his perface TO the
bulletin; "The University Of Tennes-
see offered special opportunities for
the successful prosecution of nutrition
inquiries. The university has thor
oughly equipped chemical laboratories,
and its accomplished professor of
chemistry, the author of this report,
has devoted himself with great en-
thusiasm to the prosecution of these
inquiries. He was able to secure the
services OF able and painstakipg as
sistants aud the cooperation Of a
Students club connected with the
university. The studies of the dietaries
of this club was thus made under con.
iitions most favorable for securing
lefinite and accurate results. The
other dietary study described in this
report was that of a representative
mechanics family living near Knox
vile, Tenn. The University of Ten
nessee cooperated with the depart
ment of agriculture in the most gener-
GUS manner, freely giving all the
facilities OF its laboratories and much
OF the time of its professor of chemistry
and his assistants. When it became
known in the city of Knoxville and
vicinity that such Investigations were
in progress at the university, the peo-
pie manifested great interest in them,
and the press eagerly sought and
widely difiused such general accounts
OF the nature and purpose OF nutrition
Investigations as were furnished them
fiom time to time"
In these studies amount OF food con-
sumed and its composition were de,
ermined, as we'll as the ratio OF the
tissue-forming nutrients to those which
more especially yield energy. Prof
| w. 0. Atwater and Chas. D. Woods
Special agents OF the department, have
compared these results with those OBJ
tanned from Investigations in New
England and elsewhere. 1t appears
from these Investigations, that the
students in Tennessee, Missouri anC
| Connecticut eat sufficient food, though
there is rather less protein (the tissue
forming nutrient) and rather more
carbohydrates and fat (the nutrients
which yield energy, but can not form
muscular tissue) than the STANDARD
calls for. This discrepancy is more
marked in Tennessee and Missouri
thon in Connecticut. The Tennesse,
and Missouri students eat more poul
try and egg, more fat pork and les
beef, mutton and veal than the Con
necticut students Protein isprovideC
in its most available form in meat
milk and other animal foods. Tb