1. Twenty-four healthy black Kenyan children, mean age 29 (SD 19) months, were studied over a 24 h period. Energy expenditure (EE) was determined using a ventilated-hood indirect calorimeter; measuring oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production. Metabolizable energy intake was measured in twenty children. Anthropometric measurements were used to estimate surface area and lean body-weight.

2. The mean daily intake of metabolizable energy was 338.4 (se 28.4) kJ/kg; 70% of gross dietary energy being provided by carbohydrate. The level of postprandial EE was significantly (P > 0.05) higher than the resting level (12.6 (se 0.47) and 11.38 (se 0.37) kJ/kg per h respectively) while the level of the postprandial respiratory quotient (RQ) was similar to the resting level (0.94 (se 0.02)) and 0.98 (se 0.03 respectively). In 33% of total observations of the resting RQ the value was more than 1.0. These findings suggest that short-term fat storage may be a normal feature of metabolism in children, and also that the energy cost of (postprandial) fat synthesis is increased by a high-carbohydrate diet.

3. Values for the resting metabolic rate and various estimators of body size were compared using regression analysis. It was evident that, in these young children with considerable variation in body composition, body-weight remained a satisfactory metabolic-size estimator.

1. The effects of protein-deficient and energy-deficient diets on the concentrations of skin glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and collagen were studied in young rats.

2. In Expt 1, comparisons were made between animals fed on a control (C) diet (protein:energy (P:E) 0.210), a low-protein (LP) diet (P:E 0.032) and a very-low-protein (VLP) diet (P:E 0005) ad lib. Skin GAGS and collagen concentrations were determined at intervals as the animals became malnourished and when some of those fed on the VLP diet started showing signs of oedema. Concurrently, plasma albumin concentrations were determined to assess the extent of hypoalbuminaemia. With prolonged severe protein deficiency all GAGS species were reduced below normal levels. Collagen concentration decreased with prolonged protein deficiency. Protein-deficient rats developed hypoalbuminaemia.

3. In Expt 2, comparisons were made between animals fed on the C, LP and VLP diets ad lib. and others given the C diet in restricted amounts sufficient to maintain body-weights identical to those fed on LP or VLP diets ad lib. Energy-deficient rats, wasting at rates similar to protein-deficient ones, had higher skin GAGs concentrations than those in protein-deficient or control animals. With prolonged malnutrition, collagen concentrations were similar in protein- and energy-deficient animals and lower than those observed in control animals. Plasma albumin concentrations in energy-deficient animals were above starting values, except in severely energy-deficient animals at the end of the experiment. Protein-deficient animals developed hypoalbuminaemia.

4. In conclusion, the present study has shown that the main difference between prolonged severe protein deficiency and energy deficiency in the rat is that skin hyaluronic acid concentration is higher than normal in energy deficiency but below normal levels in prolonged severe protein deficiency. Initially skin collagen concentrations are higher than normal in both protein- and energy-deficient animals. However, with prolonged malnutrition the concentrations are reduced.

1. Using vanadate-facilitated [3H]ouabain binding, the effect of semi-starvation on the total concentration of [3H]ouabain-binding sites was determined in samples of rat skeletal muscle. When 12-week-old rats were semi-starved for 1, 2 or 3 weeks on one-third to half the normal daily energy intake, the [3H]ouabain-binding site concentration in soleus muscle was reduced by 19, 24 and 25% respectively. In extensor digitorum longus, diaphragm and gastrocnemius muscles the decrease after 2 weeks of semi-starvation was 15, 18 and 17% respectively. The decrease was fully reversible within 3 d of free access to the diet. Complete deprivation of food for 5 d caused a reduction of 25% in soleus muscle [3H]ouabain-binding-siteconcentration. It was excluded that the reduction in [3H]ouabain binding was due to a reduced affinity of the binding site for [3H]ouabain.

2. Semi-starvation of 12-week-old rats for 3 weeks caused a reduction of 45 and 53% in 3, 5, 3'-triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) levels respectively. As reduced thyroid hormone levels have previously been found to decrease [3H]ouabain-binding-siteconcentration in skeletal muscle, this points to the importance of T3 and T4 in the down-regulation of the [3H]ouabain-binding-siteconcentration in skeletal muscle with semi-starvation. Whereas potassium depletion caused a decrease in K content as well as in [3H]ouabain-binding-siteconcentration in skeletal muscles, semi-starvation caused only a tendency to a decrease in K content. Thus, K depletion is not a major cause of the reduction in [3H]ouabain-binding-siteconcentration with semi-starvation.

3. Due to its high concentration of Na, K pumps, skeletal muscle has a considerable capacity for clearing K from the plasma as well as for the binding of digitalis glycosides. Semi-starvation causes a severe reduction in the total skeletal muscle pool of Na, K pumps and may therefore be associated with impairment of K tolerance and increased digitalis toxicity.

1. Thirteen adult females and two males were overfed a total of 79–159 MJ (1900–38 000 kcal) during a 3-week period at the Clinical Research Center, Rochester. The average energy cost of the weight gain was 28 kJ (6.7 kcal)/g, and about half the gain consisted of lean body mass (LBM) as estimated by 40Kcounting.

2. A survey of the literature disclosed twenty-eight normal males and five females who had been overfed a total of 104–362 MJ (2500–87000 kcal) under controlled conditions: twenty-five of these had assays of body composition, and three had complete nitrogen balances.

3. When these values were combined with those from our subjects (total forty-eight), there was a significant correlation between weight gain and total excess energy consumed (r 0.77, P < 0.01) and between LBM gain and excess energy (r 0.49, P < 0.01). Based on means the energy cost was 33.7 kJ (8.05 kcal)/g gain and 43.6% of the gain was LBM; from regression analysis these values were 33.7 kJ (8.05 kcal)/g gain and 38.4% of gain as LBM.

4. Individual variations in the response could not be explained on the basis of sex, initial body-weight or fat content, duration of overfeeding, type of food eaten, amount of daily food consumption or, in a subset of subjects, on smoking behaviour.

5. The average energy cost of the weight gain was close to the theoretical value of 33.8 kJ (8.08 kcal)/g derived from the composition of the tissue gained.

1. Children aged 6–35 months in an urban community in The Gambia, West Africa, were weighed and their lengths measured at four surveys over an 18-month period, twice towards the end of the rains, and twice during the dry season.

2. Relative to international standards, height-for-age deteriorated steadily with age, while weight-for-age fell sharply in the second-half of infancy but showed no further deterioration from 12 to 35 months of age.

3. Height-for-age showed little seasonal variation, but weight-for-age and weight-for-height were lower at the end of the rains than during the dry season. Weight and height velocities were much lower during the rains than in the dry season, with more than 20% of the children losing weight during the rains. Possible reasons for these seasonal variations are discussed. Compensatory weight gain in the dry season exceeded the velocity expected from the standards in children aged 12 months or more, but height velocity fell below the standards all year.

4. The results are compared with previous findings from Keneba, a rural Gambian village. Weight velocity during the dry season was similar in the two communities, but the village children experienced a sharper decline in weight gain during the rains.

5. These results suggest that seasonal ecological factors may seriously influence the nutritional status of children living in an urban environment with adequate availability of food.

1. Twelve young men were given for periods of 20 d, each of three mixed diets, namely a low-protein (LP) diet (9% total energy as protein, 67% of animal origin), a high-animal-protein (HA) diet (16% total energy as protein, 67% of animal origin) and a high-vegetable-protein (HV) diet (16% total energy as protein, 67% of vegetable origin). Retention of calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper as well as various bowel function indices were investigated during each dietary period.

2. Neither the HA diet nor the HV diet changed the retention of the minerals considerably. Only Fe balance decreased significantly on the HV diet.

3. Substituting the HV diet for the HA diet resulted in significant increases in faecal wet weight (17 g/d), defaecation frequency (0.12 stools/d), faecal volatile fatty acids (2.6 mmol/d) and a decrease in faecal bile acids (128 μmol/d).

4. It is concluded that a HV diet, rather than a HA diet is to be recommended with respect to bowel function, whereas the HV diet does not necessarily have a significant influence on mineral retention.

1. Results from two independent metabolic balance studies in patients with ileal resection with or without a remaining colon were examined to assess the precision of the mineral, protein and fat balances obtained.

2. Low day-to-day variation in balances was found in patients with ileostomy/jejunostomy, irrespective of formula diet composition. In contrast, patients with a remaining colon showed considerable variation, with reliable cumulative balances often not reached for many weeks.

3. In conclusion, short-term cumulative balances can be performed with good precision in patients with ileostomy or jejunostomy.

1. Complete 24 h energy and nitrogen balances were measured for eight subjects both while consuming a basal diet supplemented with 49 g saccharose/d (diet S) and while consuming the same basal diet but supplemented with 50 g lactitol monohydrate/d (diet L).

2. The subjects ate the two diets for 8 d. Faeces and urine were collected for the final 4 d. Exchange of respiratory gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane) was measured during the final 72 h while the subjects stayed in an open-circuit respiration chamber, 11 m3, and simulated office work. Before eating diet L, subjects ate 50 g lactitol daily for 10 d.

3. On diets L and S, faecal moisture content averaged 0.787 and 0.753 g/g respectively, the difference being significant (P < 0.05). On diet L, energy and nitrogen digestibilities and energy metabolizability averaged 0, 922, 0.836 and 0-881 respectively, and on diet S 0.935, 0.869 and 0.896 respectively; the differences were also significant (P < 0.05). Urinary energy losses and N balances were not significantly different for the two diets.

4. In all subjects only traces of methane were produced but hydrogen production differed significantly (P < 0.05) for diets L and S, being 2.3 and 0.4 litres (normal temperature and pressure)/d respectively.

5. Intakes of metabolizable energy (ME) were corrected, within subjects, to energy equilibrium and equal metabolic body-weight. The corrected ME intakes did not show differences between diets. However, when on diet L the subjects were probably less active than when on diet S because differences within subjects of ankle actometer counts between diets showed a high correlation with the corresponding differences in corrected ME intakes (r 0.92). Further correction of ME intake toward equal actometer activity showed a significant (P < 0.05) difference between diets: for maintaining energy equilibrium 5.6 (SE 0.8; P < 0.05) % more ME from diet L was needed than from diet S. The reliability of this 5.6% difference depends on whether or not one ankle actometer gives an accurate picture of the subject's physical activity.

6. The energy contribution to the body is clearly smaller from lactitol than from saccharose, certainly due to the effect of lactitol on digestion, and probably also due to the effect on the utilization of ME.

1. To evaluate the effect of age, sex and level of intake on the colonic response to wheat fibre, thirty healthy volunteers aged 17–62 years (nineteen men, eleven women) recruited from a local industry, were divided into four groups and given a controlled diet for two 3-week periods. The diet contained white bread during one period or one of four different amounts of bran-enriched wholemeal bread during the other (30, 60, 110, 170 g/d).

2. Wide variation was observed between subjects in stool weight on the basal diet and in response to wheat fibre. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the variation in stool weight was significantly related to sex (t4.0, P <0.001) but not to age, height, weight or energy:fibre intakes on the basal diet. Stool weight in men (162(SE 11) g/d) was approximately double that in women (83(SE 11) g/d). Transit time and stool weight were closely related and the effect of sex on stool weight could be explained entirely by differences in transit.

4. Faecal carbohydrate excretion increased with the addition of bran mainly due to increased amounts of cellulose and pentose (arabinose+xylose), whilst digestibility of dietary non-starch polysaccharide fell from 77.6 (SE 2.3)% on the white bread diet to 65.6 (SE 2.4)% with the added bran (t 7.4, P < 0.01, n26).

5. Faecal pH was more acid in men than in women and was related to methane production. Methane producers had higher faecal pH than non-producers (7.06 (SE 0.1 1) v. 6.65 (SE O.1)), lower stool weight (g/d; 93 (SE 12) v. 156 (SE 13)) and slower transit times (h; 84.6 (SE 11.7) v. 48.6 (SE 6.6)).

6. These studies show that, when on similar diets, women have much lower stool weights and slower transit times than men. Furthermore, within the range of amounts of wheat fibre used in this and other published work, stool weight increases in linear proportion to the dose of fibre added to the diet. Methane excretion in breath is associated in this group of subjects with slow transit time and high faecal pH.

1. The concentration of taurine in the diets, plasma, urine and breast milk were measured in vegans and age- and sex-matched omnivore controls. Plasma and urinary amino acid concentrations were also determined

2. Taurine was absent from the vegan diet and occurred in variable amounts in the diets of the omnivores. Urinary taurine levels were less than half those of the omnivores but plasma and breast-milk levels were only slightly lower.

3. Dietary energy intakes were similar in the vegans and omnivores, but protein intakes tended to be lower in the vegans.

1. In vitro activation of erythrocyte aspartate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.1) activity by pyridoxal phosphate was used to assess vitamin B4 nutritional status in forty Sudanese women taking combined, low-dose oral contraceptives (oestrogen-progestogen; OC) and in thirty healthy, non-pregnant women not taking OC.

2. Fourteen (35%) out of forty OC users showed apparent vitamin B4 deficiency.

3. Side-effects associated with OC were more common among the apparently vitamin-B4-deficient OC users than among OC users and non-OC users not deficient in vitamin B4.

1. Blood rheology has been quantified by measuring blood and plasma viscosity, packed cell volume (PCV), erythrocyte filterability and erythrocyte aggregation in forty-eight voluntary vegetarians and compared with matched controls.

2. Results show that in vegetarians, values for PCV were lower than those in controls, leading to reduced native blood viscosity. In addition PCV-standardized blood viscosity was also decreased. This was brought about mostly by lower plasma viscosity. Erythrocyte rheology seemed to be unaltered. Stricter avoidance of animal products was associated with even lower values for these indices.

3. These observations are in agreement with the fact that other low-cardiovascular-risk groups show better than average blood fluidity. They are consistent with the hypothesis that in vitro measurements of blood rheology may provide signs of early atherosclerotic changes in vivo.

1. The mean adipocyte volume and cellularity of adipose tissue in twelve anatomically defined depots were measured in 190 virgin and reproductive guinea-pigs aged 6 months to 2 years, maintained on five different regimens of diet and exercise.

2. The total adipocyte complement was constant up to the age of about 10 months and increased by 65–70% during the 2nd year of life. At constant percentage body-weight as fat, age-related accumulation of adipocytes was accompanied by reduction in average adipocyte volume. A period of high percentage body-weight as fat was not a necessary antecedent to age-related accumulation of adipocytes, and the effect was not observed in specimens that exercised regularly.

3. In guinea-pigs over 13 months old, changes in adipose tissue cellularity made a major contribution to total fatness. The mean volume of samples of adipocytes was a satisfactory indicator of fatness only in younger specimens in which adipose tissue cellularity was not changing.

4. The lean body mass and the total adipocyte complement were lower in guinea-pigs on the sedentary, restricted-diet regimen, whether the regimen began at the age of 19 weeks or 31 weeks, but the depots studied were not equally affected. Both moderate and strenuous exercise on an ad lib. diet caused a reduction in the percentage body-weight as fat in males but not in females. The total adipocyte complement and lean body mass were unchanged, although the males became almost as thin following exercise as those on the restricted-diet regimen.

5. Among guinea-pigs under 400 d old, there were no significant differences between males and virgin females in the site-specific volume of adipocytes relative to the size of those in other depots of the same specimen; there was only one significant difference in this index between the older and the younger specimens. The diet and exercise regimens modified the site-specific adipocyte volume relative to those in other depots; adipocytes under the trapezius muscle of the neck (UMN), at the interscapular depot (HUMP) and those in the depots anterior to the forelimb became relatively smaller following exercise, while those in the popliteal fat mass were relatively larger. Adipocytes in the UMN and HUMP also became more numerous relative to those in the other depots following both moderate and strenuous exercise. Those in the groin site, the intra-abdominal depots and the intermuscular depots became relatively smaller following dietary restriction without exercise.

6. The retroperitoneal depot was the most consistently and extensively depleted following dietary restriction without exercise, and the mesenteric and omental, ventral groin and anterior forelimb depots were not significantly depleted in any of the virgin guinea-pigs on this regmen. Thus those on the restricted diet had more adipocytes at these depots, in proportion to lean body mass, than the ad lib.-fed controls. Following age-related adipocyte proliferation, there were relatively more adipocytes in the abdominal depots, and relatively fewer in depots around the forelimbs in guinea-pigs that were first exercised strenuously and then placed on a sedentary at lib.-feeding regimen, compared with never-exercised controls.

7. Some of the correlation coefficients between the volumes of adipocytes in all depots studied were significantly higher in the ad lib.-fed, sedentary mothers than in ad lib.-fed sedentary males of the same age. No other effects of maternity on site-specific differences in the relative volume or relative abundance of adipocytes were identified.

8. Site-specific differences in adipocyte accumulation contributed more to age and regimen-related changes in body conformation than changes in the relative volume of adipocytes.

1. The milk yield of eight mothers each breast-feeding twins was determined by test weighing the mothers. Milk yield was determined at 2, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post partum; however, only one mother was studied at all these times.

2. At 6 months post partum the milk yield for individual breasts of three mothers fully breast-feeding and four mothers partially breast-feeding their infants ranged from 0.84 to 2.16 kg/24 h and 0.42 to 1.39 kg/24 h respectively. The average frequency of breast-feeding for the mothers studied at 6 months post partum was 15.4 feeds124 h.

3. The milk yield of one mother fully breast-feeding 2.5-month-old triplets was 3.08 kg/24 h and the infants were fed twenty-seven times in 24 h.

4. The concentration of lactose, protein and mixed fat in the milk from individual breasts of mothers fully breast-feeding their infants ranged from 65.6 to 82.2, 7.8 to 15.7 and 16.7 to 46.2 g/1 respectively. For the three mothers partially breast-feeding 12-month-old infants the values ranged from 54.8 to 71.8, 14.2 to 19.9 and 4.7 to 40.5 g/l respectively.

5. At 6 and 12 months of age, the proportion of the total energy intake of the infants which was derived from breast milk ranged from 64 to 100% and 6 to 13% respectively.

6. It is concluded that the maximum potential milk yield for women may be higher than the often quoted value of 70–800 m1/24 h.

1. The influence of a low-energy diet when associated with high-cholesterol intake was investigated in seventeen normal men during an 8-week cross-over study. The subjects were given a daily supplement of two whole eggs and two egg yolks (approximately 1 g cholesterol) either with their usual diet for 4 weeks or with a low-energy diet for 4 weeks. Each subject took part randomly in both dietary periods.

2. During the first part of the study, no changes occurred in the plasma cholesterol of the subjects with egg supplementation of the usual diet.

3. In contrast, the low-energy diet and associated weight loss markedly decreased the tolerance to high- cholesterol intake resulting in increased plasma cholesterol. The mean rise was 22.7% but with wide individual variations in the response. This was almost completely normalized when the subjects returned to their usual energy intake indicating the involvement of weight reduction in the increase observed.

4. Changes in low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were parallel to those of total plasma cholesterol with an increase following the low-energy diet and normalization after body-weight recovery.

5. The opposite effect was shown with the low-energy diet after previous adaptation to the consumption of four eggs per day. This dietary regimen resulted in a decrease in plasma cholesterol although it was not significant. Moreover, the lipoprotein profile was improved with a decrease in very-low-density-lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol and an increase in high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

6. High-cholesterol intake induced significant changes in lipoprotein composition whatever the energy ration. LDL and HDL were enriched in cholesterol esters as early as the 1st month of egg supplementation of the diet.

7. Taken together, the results emphasize the possible adverse effect of slimming diets when associated with high-cholesterol intake. The existence of ‘high-responders’ to these dietary conditions calls for special attention to be paid to the cholesterol content of restricted diets.

1. Four experiments, each with four concurrent continuous cultures of rumen micro-organisms, were used to investigate the effects of inoculum, food substrate and cobalt supplementation on the course of fermentation and vitamin B12 synthesis. The inocula came from sheep receiving either a Co-rich, complete diet (Ruminant A: Expts 1, 2 and 4) or a Co-deficient hay (Expt 3). In Expt 2, inocula from different donors were used for each culture but for other experiments they were pooled. Co-deficient hay was used as the initial substrate and Co-supplements were given after 8–54 d Co-depletion.

2. In three of four experiments, two using a pooled inoculum, uncharacteristically low acetate (Ac) and high propionate (Pr) outputs were obtained from the hay substrate in some cultures. In all, six cultures gave Ac:Pr values in the effluent > 2: 1 and, in Expt 3, the differences remained evident for at least 6 d after a change to a Co-deficient barley substrate.

3. Abnormal cultures gave lower cobalamin (cbl) and vitamin B12 analogue outputs than normal cultures: when supplemented with Co they showed small responses in cbl and large responses in analogue output with a slow increase in Ac:Pr.

4. We suggest that the use of Co-deficient substrates led to shifts in the microbial populations of some cultures, indicating the cbl-dependence of some species of rumen micro-organisms.

1. Sheep were given 800 g low-protein roughage/d at 2 h intervals and infused intraruminally with 0, 500, 750, 1000, 1250, 1500 or 2000 mmol sodium chloride/d in 436 ml water. The digestibility of various food fractions and rumen ammonia, volatile fatty acids (VFA) and liquid turnover rate were measured, along with renal haemodynamics and the renal excretory patterns of nitrogen and electrolytes. Ad lib. food intake was determined during the infusion of 0 and 2000 mmol NaCl/d.

2. Infusion of NaCl up to 750 mmol/d had virtually no effect on the indices measured, except water intake and water excretion. Infusion of greater amounts caused a step-wise decrease in the digestibility of organic matter (OM) and N. Rumen liquid turnover rate was increased substantially and rumen NH2, and VFA concentrations were decreased. Ad lib. food intake was not different when either 0 or 2000 mmol NaCl/d were infused into the rumen.

3. The glomerular filtration rate and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) were substantially increased after the infusion of 1250 mmol or more NaCl/d. Extracellular fluid volume was also increased. The renal excretion of urea and uric acid+allantoin (URAL) were decreased at the higher infusion rates but the fractional excretions of both these substances were enhanced. The excretion of sodium, chloride, calcium and magnesium were markedly increased with increasing salt infusion.

4. The results suggest that high NaCl inputs into the rumen increase the rumen turnover rate, which in turn decreases the digestibility of OM, particularly N. This causes lower rumen NH3, and VFA concentrations. Plasma urea and URAL concentrations are also decreased and this causes lower renal excretion of these substances despite a much higher fractional excretion resulting from the greatly enhanced urine flow rate.

5. When roughages low in N are given, NaCl intake should be kept below 20 mmol/kg body-weight per d to prevent a decline in the digestibility of the food and any consequent reduction in protein available to the sheep.

1. Forty-two mothers from social classes I, I1 and IIInon-manual and twenty-one from social classes IIImanual (M), IV and V were studied longitudinally. The mean daily nutrient intakes in months 4–9 of pregnancy, months 2– 4 of lactation and 3 and 6 months post-lactation are presented and are compared with the UK and the US recommended daily allowances (RDA).

2. The quality of the diets (nutrients per 4184 kJ (1000 kcal)) was found to be better than that of other adult female populations studied in the UK, except for a group of dietitians.

3. The mean daily intakes of nutrients for which there are UK RDA were almost all greater than 100% of the RDA. The exceptions were iron, which in the manual group (social classes IIIM, IV and V) was 85% of the RDA in pregnancy and 75% post-lactation, and vitamin D.

4. Among the nutrients for which there are US, but not UK RDA, only phosphorus and vitamin B,, intakes were greater than 100% of the RDA in both groups at all stages of the study. Intakes of other nutrients were below the RDA: pantothenate 7G91, vitamin B, zinc, vitamin E and copper 40–72, folate 21–44, and biotin < 20% of the RDA.

5. The bases of the RDA for adult women were examined; for most nutrients the information is limited. It was concluded that the RDA for magnesium, vitamin E and pantothenate are probably higher than necessary and that deficiency is unlikely; that zinc, copper, vitamin B, and folate are probably ‘marginal’ nutrients for ‘at risk’ groups; and that information on biotin is insufficient even roughly to assess the dietary requirement.