BASAL METABOLIC RATE OF MEDICAL STUDENTS AND NURSES IN TRAINING AT CHARLESTON, S. C.

Abstract

Studies on the basal metabolic rate in tropical and subtropical climates have been made by de Almeida,¹ Sundstroem,² Hafkesbring and Borgstrom,³ Tilt⁴ and others. The conclusion is rather general that metabolism is somewhat lower in warmer climates. Temperature is usually assumed to be the controlling factor, but McConnell and Yaglogou⁵ found that when men were placed in heated chambers, the change in basal metabolic rate was marked only when the increase in temperature and humidity was sufficient to break down the regulating mechanism of the body; then metabolism increased. Lowered intake of protein has also been supposed to explain lower metabolism in the tropics, but Brooks⁶ showed that among college students dietary habits as to protein at New Orleans are not different from those at Cleveland or at Chapel Hill, N. C. Although the determination of the metabolic rate is most used clinically as an indication of the degree of