The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-11-17
:
NUTRITION.

N O1k8441A11Vs
whenever the cost of living In
creases we are at once brought back
to the ever-recurring question az to
the ideal ration for man. Commune
ties and even nations. like families,
become accustomed or adjusted, as 1t
were. to certain modes Of living. In
which ire included their dietary hab-
its and choice of foods. To speak OF
nutrition In certain countries without
mention Of rice would appear quite az
extreme a. to plan q dietary In the
United States without the inclusion of
bread of some sort. Such national
food habits are doubtless dictated at
the start by economic and agricultural
considerations. Even within small cir
cumscribed geographic areas the &C.
centricities Of diet customs are exem-
plified in striking ways. The differ
ences between the range and deriva-
ton of the menus Of an ultra-fash-
ionable restaurant and the bill-of-fare
of the modest dairy lunch"-the pre-
ponderance Of high-priced cuts OF
meat and animal foods with relatively
few examples of pastry dishes In the
one, and the evident popularity OF veg
etarian meals in the other-make one
wonder whether there are. after all.
any fundamental dietary laws that can
be laid down for people In general.
We can scarcely assume. says The
Journal Of the American Medical As
ISOLATION, that large groups OF the
population would voluntarily subsist
for any length of time on dietaries
which were manifestly inadequate for
A.. the
striking contrasts side by side In the
routine observation of small and large
communities alike.
Psychologists have laid down certain
rules regarding the nutritive needs OF
man and expressed them both In
terms of familiar nutrients and In units
Of energy, calories. How these nave
been arrived at need not concern us
seriously here. In part 1t has been by
direct feeding experiment to ascertain
the limits at which permanent gains
or losses to the bodily economy result.
and in part by statistical methods
whereby the actual food consumption
Of individuals and groups has been
noted and the averages thus gained
taken as an index to the probable
needs of the human organism. On the
whole, the agreement Of these two
methods, the experimental and the
statistical, has been surprisingly close.
The collection of suitable statistics
throughout the world cannot fail to
add useful information as a basis for
larger dietary programs. precisely as
the study of special groups (laborers,
poorer classes. prisoners. etc.), has
indicated Limitations that need to be
recognized by authorities who deal
with public problems of nutrition.
The French bear the reputation Of
being a well-nourished or at least
well-fed nation. This is sustained by
the data collected by Gautier. one OF
the French experts in the field OF nu-
triton study. His figures have an ex-
ceptional value and added interest be-
cause they represent the findings not
of a single day or week. but of no less
than two decades. The statistics are
those of food consumption on the part
OF the great majority Of the inhabi-
tants of Paris-the average" inhabi-
tants-derived from public records OF
taxes paid on foodstuffs and from &C
tual investigation among the peasant
or .bourgeois' families. In consider
alton of the long period over which
the records apply and the large num-
Der of people. nearly three millions.
involved, the discrepancies between
rich and poor, undernourished and
overfed, are probably in good part
eoualized. Here are the figures
expressed as daily aver
age. Obtained from vegetable sources:
bread. 420 gm.; green vegetables. ESQ;
cereals, 20: potatoes, 100; sugar. 40;
fresh fruits. 70; alcoholic beverages.
432. From animal sources: meats, 200
gm.; eggs, "a: cheese, 8; butter and oil
%; milk. 213: to which may be added
salt, 20 gm., and water. $50. This &C
cords we'll with established stand
ards for the average man. Incident
ally national characteristics are en-
phasized in the relative proportions OF
foods consumed as. for example. the
liberal use of bread. Despite such In
cidental variations. the actual nutrient
intake Of peoples seems to be much the
same the world over.
METAL FURNITURE.