A provisional yardstick of human calorie requirements has been provided by a report from the Nutrition Division of the Food and Agricultural Organization (F.A.O.) of the United Nations (1950). In a world beset with food shortages and an increasing population this is of great practical importance.The report draws attention to several gaps in fundamental physiological knowledge. Thus the variation in the Basal Metabolic Rates (B.M.R.), the foundation upon which standards for human energy requirements have been built, is not well-defined in different population groups. Recently Quenouille, Boyne, Fisher & Leitch (1951) have made a new assessment of normal B.M.R. standards in relation to sex, stature, age, climate and race. Robertson & Reid (1952) have made measurements of the B.M.R.'S of a large series of the British people. These authors have discussed body size, age, sex and race in relation to B.M.R.'S. We now have a good body of data on this subject, but there is little or no data of the effect of these factors on the metabolism during muscular activities. If metabolic variations of the same order occurred during exercise, they would profoundly affect the food requirements of a population.In the present investigation we have studied the energy expenditure of fifty persons of varying size and age, male and female, European and Asiatic, during the carrying out of two different standard muscular activities. The first one was a stepping test in which there was measurable external work performed in raising the body weight and the second was walking, an ordinary everyday activity. In these two activities the movements involved are those to which the subjects are of necessity accustomed in every-day life, and so should be little affected by training or practice.A statistical analysis of our data shows that energy expenditure during stepping or walking can be very closely predicted from a knowledge of body weight, and that no significant increase in precision is gained by also taking PH. CXXI. 15
1. A survey of the incidence of goitre in Ceylon was carried out in the years 1947–9 and goitre was found to be endemic in the south-west sector of the Wet Zone of Ceylon.2. In response to a request by the Ceylon Government to the World Health Organization for advice, Dr Dagmar Wilson in 1950 confirmed our earlier findings and as a short-term policy recommended the provision of iodine as KI tablets to the stress groups in the Wet Zone. This was initiated in August 1951.3. A second survey was carried out in 1963 in nine of the villages in the Wet Zone that had been studied previously.4. Statistical analysis showed that the incidence had significantly increased amongst the females in all nine villages and amongst the males in two villages.5. A survey of the incidence amongst mothers attending antenatal clinics confirmed the existence of a strip of country where goitre was endemic.6. The critical level of iodine intake from drinking water below which goitre becomes endemic has been shown to be 10 μg/1.7. The low iodine content of the water in the Wet Zone has been shown to be due to the persistent heavy rainfall, associated with high drainage into the ocean, by which the soil is leached.8. The mean annual escape of water per square mile of a river basin (the yield factor) has been shown to be directly proportional to the intensity of endemic goitre in that basin.9. The aetiological factors related to the problem of goitre are discussed. The prophylactic method failed as it was not sustained.10. Iodization of kitchen salt is recommended for use by the general population. The amount of iodine added to the salt should not be great enough to produce any side-effects. Potassium iodate is suggested as the most suitable source of iodine for use in tropical regions with high humidity.
1. A comparative study of the iodine and calcium contents of diets in areas of Ceylon where goitre is endemic and non-endemic was carried out.2. The iodine content of food grown in non-endemic areas was, in most instances, considerably higher than in endemic areas.3. In endemic areas the daily average intake per person per day was well above the allowance of 100–150 μg recommended by most workers. The critical level of total daily iodine intake below which goitre becomes endemic in Ceylon was 400 μg. Possible reasons for this higher need of iodine are discussed.4. Addition of iodine to cooking salt has been used successfully to combat endemic goitre in many countries. The amount of iodine added is based on the degree of endemicity and the amount of salt consumed per person per day. It is suggested that the more important criteria which should determine the amount of iodine added to cooking salt are the dietary iodine content, the daily total intake of dietary iodine and particularly the level of iodine below which goitre becomes prevalent.
1. Salt is a convenient household commodity which is generally used as a vehicle for iodine in the prophylactic treatment of endemic goitre.2. Iodization of salt depends on the normal requirements for iodine, the intensity of the environmental iodine deficiency, the presence of goitrogenic factors and the daily salt consumption per head of the population.3. Although the intake of most nutrients has been worked out during the normal course of dietary surveys in the past, the daily salt consumption per head of the population has not been estimated.4. In this survey a simple method has been described for evaluating salt consumption and this finding will be the basis for planning the iodization programme in Ceylon.
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