Factors Affecting Basal Metabolism

Superficial observations have led us to the general belief that the vital processes are much the same with average individuals. It is true that we are inclined to classify people as high-strung and nervous on the one hand and phlegmatic on the other; yet, on the average, the normal individual apparently has a metabolic plane comparable to his neighbor’s, for the general uniformity in the energy requirement, as mdicated by dietary studies of people of various classes performing like amounts of muscular wo;k, suggests that there is likewise a uniformity in the basal metabolism of these individuals, i.e., the metabolism during complete muscular rest and in the post-absorptive condition. Undoubtedly a group of miners will have about the same average metabolism as another group of miners, or a group of stenographers in one city will have much the same energy requirement as a group of stenographers in another city. But while the uniformity in energy requirement is of great significance in dietary studies and in the arrangement of dietaries, from. the standpoint of pure physiology and for the application of physiological values to a study of pathological cases, it is of much more importance for us to know how constant is the.basal metabolism with different individuals. For instance, while two groups of stenographers would have on the average the same energy requirement for the like amount of work, would the individual members of the group have the same basal metabolism? The general impression that individuals of like occupation have similar dietary needs applies only to persons of approximately similar a& and weight; for it is a matter of household observation that the growing, active child apparently requires