METABOLISM OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS: I. BASAL METABOLISM AND ENERGY EXCHANGE

Although much work has been published on the basal metabolism of adolescent children and on the utilization of energy throughout the day as determined by calculations from the intake of food, few studies have been reported in which the balance of energy has been actually determined rather than calculated. We have been interested not only in the basal metabolism of adolescent girls but in the manner in which the total energy used by these girls throughout the day is distributed. We consider that if the energy represented by the basal metabolism and the energy of the excreta are subtracted from the energy of the food as determined by analysis there is obtained as close an estimation as is possible of the expenditure of energy for activity, growth and cost of digestion. Aside from Bedale's excellent report 1 on the energy expenditure and food requirements of children at school, we were