An Improved Technic for Metabolism Studies in Pre-School Children with a Statistical Determination of Its Reliability

Abstract

The procedure used in two balance experiments conducted in this laboratory is described. Some of the precautions taken may suggest improvements in technic which might eliminate some technical errors and make results more constant. The composition of diets containing the same food and prepared under standard conditions varied not only from period to period but also between duplicate diets collected on the same day. Nevertheless, the coefficients of variation for calories, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus were not large, ranging between 1.6 and 3.1.