A Study Of English Diets By The Individual Method: Part II. Women

Abstract

SUMMARY1. The food intakes of sixty-three women of the English middle class have been studied by the individual method and compared with those of men which were described in a previous paper.2. The average calorie consumption was 2187 per day. Although it is not suggested that this is the optimum intake, it would appear from these results that the “man value” of a woman is 0·7, and not 0·8 as is usually supposed. The individual calorie consumptions varied from 1453 to 3110 per day.3. The average daily protein intake was 67 g., and no subject was eating more than 90 g.4. Fat and carbohydrate contributed almost equally to the calorie value of the diet. The proportion of total calories derived from fat (42·7 per cent.) is higher than any previously recorded figures in Europe or America.5. The average amount of calcium in the diets was 0·63 g. per day. Fourteen individuals were having less than 0·5 g., and one only 0·23 g.6. The mean intakes of total and available phosphorus were 1·32 and 1·09 g. respectively.7. A study has been carried out on six women, whose husbands were unemployed. Their intake of all dietary constituents, except carbohydrate, were considerably lower than were found for the women of the middle class.Acknowledgments. The authors wish to thank Miss E. E. Franklin for her help with the calculations, Miss A. Cameron for her co-operation with regard to the unemployed, and all the subjects, without whose support the investigation would never have been carried out. One of us (E. M. W.) is indebted to the Medical Eesearch Council for a part-time grant.

Appetite, feeding behaviour and energy balance in human subjects

“…large differences in self-reported energy intake (EI) of subjects with apparently similar lifestyles and body weights (e.g. Widdowson, 1936;Widdowson & McCance, 1936;Edholm et al 1970). Taken at face value these dietary intake studies suggested that some people apparently consumed large amounts of energy but remained lean, while others appeared to consume only small-to-moderate amounts of food and gain weight easily.…”

“…(c) Very little evidence of adaptive thermogenesis was found in human subjects when the components of the energy equation (intake, expenditure and balance) were independently measured (Norgen & Durnin, 1980;Forbes et al 1986;Ravussin et al 1986). As James (1992) points out, studies that have supported the notion of luxuskonsumption (Widdowson, 1936;Widdowson & McCance, 1936;Miller et at. 1967;Sims, 1968;Sims et al , 1973Edholm et al 1970) have only inferred, not measured, the one unambiguously measurable outcome variable; that is, an increased rate of heat output from the body.…”

Nutritional individuality

“…Frequency distribution of calorie intake of sixty-three men and sixty-three women (from Widdowson & McCance, 1936). The variations are evident at 1-2 years and probably begin earlier.…”

Community study of urinary pH and osmolality.

“…This explanation is unlikely since the mean urinary pH of the sixty females above child-bearing age (over 45) included in this study, was higher (5 73) than the mean for all females (5*71). It seems more likely that the sex difference in urinary pH is due to the higher protein intake of men as compared with women (Widdowson and McCance, 1936), for it has long been known (Bernard, 1878;Hunt, 1956) that a high protein intake leads to the excretion of a more acid urine. The sex difference in urinary osmolality may also be related to differences in the protein intake of men and women.…”