Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1904-04-07
DO PEOPLE EAT TOO mucH7
Evidence That We Give Our Bodie

EVldence mat we oiVe Our OOCle.
More Food Than Needed.
New York Tribune; The director of tn,
Sheffield scientific school. Professor Rus.
sell VI. Chttenden. throws II little new
light on an cd question In the Popular
Science Monthly for June. He mentions
a discrepancy which he has observed be
tween fact and theory regarding TIA
amount of food a man should take. Vol
of Munich and Atwater of Middletown,
Conn. for instance, nave set up certain
standards, which are fairly close together.
A person doing moderate work" says
these experts, should take from lis TO Ii
grams of proteds and enough fats and
sugars to raise the total fuel value OF
his rations TO between 3,0p0 and 900
large" For heavy work" they recon-
mend a diet yielding from 1910 to 4.5M
/ caloies daily. Careful experiments with
n laboratory assistant at ale showed that
/ fortyiive grams of protcids, with fat and
sugars sufficient to develop only 500 Gallo
ries would keep him in splendid cond-
ton. lie maintained his weight perfectly,
and met physical tests IN the gymnasium
in surprising fashion. The comparison
suggests the possibility that the food al
| lowances of Volt and Atwater are waste
fu in pecuniary sense, and hamper the
system by involving unnecessary work In
digestion and elimination.
Probably; no fact in everyday life Is bet
ter established than that the majority Of
people eat too much. Medical men arc
; continually declaring that far more harm
! comes from dietary excuses and careless
/ ness than from starvation. A large va
riety and amount of sickness result from
that cause Moreover. even when he is III
apparent health, mans activity Is Otter
sensibly impaired for two or three hours
4 by Il hearty meal. Professional men In
Z particular are thus affected Efficiency Is
influenced by other factors. Exercise
ventilation and sleep. OF the lack of them
tell on ones capacity. Nutrition depends
on the way In which one eats well as
what lie eats. Again, taste or some
social obligation. rather than O recognized
need of nourishment, WIN often dictate
| the character Of even an ordinary abstem-
1 ious mans repast. If he wants to get this
/ largest amount OF work and the best quail
ity OF work out of himself. however. he
Is almost sure to cultivate moderation al
the table, at least until the conclusion OF
| his days labor
Whether the example cited by Professor
| Chittenden should be accepted as a
| standard Is another question. Possibly
the requirements of that individual are
| exceptionally small. No one mans ex-
perience can be safely taken as rule 70,
! others. Two persons of the same weigh,
and performing precisely he same duties
and eating their food With equal delibera.
! ton. may differ sufficiently In other ways
to demand dlss!milarity In the amounts
| they consume. One may have q good d.
| gestion and the other a poor one. If. OF
the other hand, there is a difference in Tho
] character, amount and hours of theil
work. a still greater disparity in theil
| needs might be expected. Professor
Chttenden does not himself consider tn,
I question settled. He wants 1t to b.
studied further. 1t IL TO be wished tina
a series of tests might he devised in which
the conditions would be altered 30 as t.
represent a variety of types. Occupa ton
sex, age. general health, leisure hour pur
4 suits and other circumstances ought t.
be taken into account. a sliding seal,
| would probably be the outcome of the re
search. Instructive as such q result
would be, It might he necessary, ever
/ then, for some people 10 act a little indie
| pendently. 1T would hardly be correc
to say that every one Is capable of work
ing this problem out for himse.i; but
since no two persons arc exactly alike. ii
would occasionally be judicious to rely
largely on observation Of ones own needs