Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-04-21
ECONOMY IN FOOD
Valuable Results of Some Recent
Investigations.
TOO MUCH is SPENT ON THE TABLE
The Average Family Does Not Get
Its Moneys Worth.
WE ARE WASTEFUL

Do we eat the right kind of food? Do we
| eat too much too little? Could we obtain
| the same amount of nutrition for less than
We pay at present? Is diet properly
varied for muscular and mental activity?
Five years ago the United States Con-
gress made an appropriation to answer
these questions By SO doing it continued
an investigation of the utmost scientific
and practical Importance. The work which
| was begun privately several years before
has been under the direction of Prof w. o.
Atwater of Wesleyan College, Mddletown,
Conn.
| Several important aspects in the matter
of diet are covered by this investigation.
First and foremost with those having it
| in hand. is the scientific aspect. Though
the results achieved have throughout the
greatest practical value, all is done in the
interest of science pure and simple, and In
thoroughly scientific fashion
Next is the relation which food bears to
physical weli-being. Too much food is in
| furious; Is too little, and so is food in
which the sustaining elements are not pres
ent in the correct proportions. Sir Henry
Thompson, the noted English physician,
says:
II have come to the conclusion that more
mischief in the form of actual disease, of
impaired .vigor and of shortened life ac-
crues to civilized man from erroneous hab-
its of eating than from the habitual use of
alcoholic drink, considerable as 1 know
that evil to be-
Lastly, the investigation touches directly
upon the vital question of individual
economy. Half the income of the
Workingman who earns $500 a year goes
for food. If the income is less the proper
ton spent for food becomes larger and it
1s likely to maintain about the same T. ito
as the income grows.
The present inquiry is likely to aid in the
the ordinary diet of ordinary people may be
made more economical The most economical
food of course. is that which furnishes the
most nutriment for the least cost.
In order to approach the subject into III
gently 1t was necessary to obtain a stand
ara OF nutrlment-in other words to ascer-
tain what proportions of various food ele-
mehts are necessary to enable an indi-
VIdual to work to sustain life. To de-
termine this standard Prof. Atwater de-
Vlsed a special apparatus which he calls a
respiration calorimeter.
Man In n BOX.
This is simply a big box large enough to
accommodate man without discomfort
The box is air-tight, yet so arranged as to
be completely ventilated. No heat or sound
penetrates the walls. When the subject of
the experiment enters 1t he is in a little
world of his own. All the food and air that
go to him are measured and anaIvzed
The waste products are carefully weighed
even 10 the moisture absorbed BY his cloth
ing. special appliances make record of the
amount of energy impaired hy his food
either in the form of muscular activity or
heat.
1t has been found by years Of observa-
ton, both here and abroad that a man
engaged in moderate muscular work
requires per day tWenty-eight hundredths
or pound Of protein. twenty-eight hun
dredths Of a pound of fats and sixty-six
hundredths of a pound of carbo- hydrates
lhese amounts, II was found, represent a
fuel value of $500 caories. woman en-
gagged in ordinary house duties requires
about seven-tcnths of this amount; a child
hee1S from Tour to six-tenths of it For a
man whose occupation requires less phv-
seal exercise the amount of food necessary
Is one to tWo-tenthS less
Protein, ii may he explained is the brain
blood and muscle building element of food
~ forms large proportion of lean meats
cheese and wheat flour. The fats pork
butter etc. produce fatty tissue and serve
as fuel. The carbohydrates are the starchy
and sweet constituents in which the cereal
foods and sugar are especially rich. In the
body they are transformed into fats and
serve as fuel. The accompanying chart
shows the relative proportion of these ele-
ments in various articles of ordinary diet
as well as the fuel value of each.
Value of Various Foods.
Sugar, for example, consists almost
rely of carbohydrates, while pork is near
ly as rich in fats. Butter contains hardly
any protein, but cheese is rich In that
element. The foods that contain the
greatest proportion of fats represent the
highest fuel value Certain foods, such as
oysters, fish and meats, include a large
proportion of refuse, while there is very lit
tie waste material in the cereals All these
matters are to be taken into account in
computing an economical diet.
No one kind of food affords perfect
diet. Bread and milk and some others
contain all the necessary materials, but not
in the right proportion. TO obtain the cor
rect amount of nitrogen and carbon from
wheat or cOrnmcal or potatoes requires too
great consumption of carbohydrates. The
injunction to live mot by bread alone Is
physiOiOgicaIiy sound
The proper proportions of the food ele-
ments may be obtained by various combina-
lions. The selection then becomes mat
ter of individual taste or of cost. A quart
of milk, three-quarterS of a pound of sir
lO!n steak and five ounces of wheat -four
contain about the same amounts of nutri-
tive material. but we pay different prices