Evening star., 1951-04-11
Breakfast Found Duy's
Most important, MeoI
Increase in Nerve Tremor
Of Nom Eaters Shown
By Thomos R. Henry


Breakfast may be the days most i'm
portant meal
Going without 1t has measurable
physiological effects, significant for both
sexes but more pronounced for men.
This has been demonstrated by ex-
periments reported to the Journal of
the American Dietetic Association by
Psychologists Of the University of Iowa.
Groups Of students first were tested
on standard breakfast for several days
and the results compared with those
when the same persons voluntarily alb
stained, or breakfasted only on black
coffee. The latter is quite a common
American custom.
Increase In Nerve Tremor.
One consistent result for nearly all
the subjects was an increase in nerve
tremor. The reaction Of men in this
respect was considerably greater than
that Of women.
Both sexes showed an increase in
reaction time. as demonstrated by the
speed with which they could make q
correct choice between two similar OBJ
jects This difference also seemed
slightly more pronounced among men.
There was demonstrable difference
In the amount Of work performed during
the day, especially in cases Of working
under stress.
Curiously enough, no changes were
discovered in body weight, although the
average breakfast consists largely Of
carbohydrates which would be expected
to add avoirdupois.
Black coffee seemed to accentuate
most Of the differences during the day.
Nerve tremor. apparently present in
everybody to some degree, was increased
notably.
Men complained Of greater fatigue
after the shift from breakfast to no
breakfast. and some had spells Of dizzi-
ness, nausea and vomiting. Their re-
actions in this respect were considerably
more pronounced than those of the
women.
On the whole. the tests reported by
w. w. Tuttle, Kate Daum, Lorraine
Myers and Constance Martin Of the
University of Iowa faculty, indicate that
the effects of breakfast are those of q
-nerve tonic whose influence continues
during the day.
X
Strong evidence that tuberculosis is
in part a hereditary disease has been
reported recently to the United States
Public Health Service from the Tuber-
culosis Research Office Of the World
Health Organization in Copenhagen.
Throughout most Of its long history
this malady has been known as family
disease" It has been considered to be
much more prevalent and severe in
some families than in others.
Within the past few years this view
has fallen into some disrepute. The
observed facts, it has been held, could
be accounted for by the spread of the
disease through intimate contacts Of
members of a household.
Return to Old View.
Now there is a strong possibility Of
return, to some extent, to the old view
The changed outlook, according to the
report of, DR.. Carroll E. Palmer, Public
Health Service officer assigned to the
Copenhagen Office. has come about
through the widespread vaccination of
populations with BEG, which gives
benign, progressive infection basic
ally quite similar to tuberculosis but
without the possibility Of doing any
harm The degree Of this infection il
uniform and constant.
Following this vaccination there is the
same reaction to tuberculin, used to
determine a persons susceptibility to
tuberculosis itself. Nearly every child in
some districts in Denmark has been
vaccinated. More than 5000 children
in one district were studied. Exactly the
same type Of vaccine was used in all
cases; each vaccination was precisely
dated, and the whole program was con-
Quoted under high scientific standards.
Curiously enough. results varied strik-
ingly according to families. At least half
the susceptibility to BEG can be at
tributed to family, and hence hereditary.
susceptibility, DR.. Palmer says.
These results, he believes. indicate
a high probability that susceptibility to
the disease has quite marked heredi-
tary factors.