The detail was composed of a detachment of twenty men from the Hospital Corps of the army, under the command of a first lieutenant and assistant surgeon. They were located in a convenient house near to the laboratory, where they lived during their six months’ stay in New Haven, under military discipline, and subject to the constant surveillance of the commanding officer and the non-commissioned officers. Having well-trained cooks and assistants, with all necessary facilities for preparing and serving their food, with members of the laboratory staff to superintend the weighing of the food as it was placed before the men, and with intelligent clerks to attend to the many details connected with such an undertaking, a somewhat unique physiological experiment was started. Thirteen members of the detachment really took part in the experiment as subjects, and they represented a great variety of types: of different ages, nationalities, temperaments, and degrees of intelligence. They were men accustomed to living an active life under varying conditions, and they naturally had great liking for the pleasures of eating. Further, it should be remembered that, although the men had volunteered for the experiment, they had no personal interest whatever in the principles involved, and it could not be expected that they would willingly incommode themselves, or suffer any great amount of personal inconvenience. Again, there were necessary restrictions placed upon their movements, when relieved from duty, which constituted something of a hardship in the minds of many of the men and added to the irksomeness and monotony of their daily life. Regularity of life was insisted upon, and this was a condition which brought to some of the men a new experience. These facts are mentioned because their recital will help to make clear that, from the standpoint of the men, there were certain depressing influences connected with the experiment which would add to any personal discomfort caused by restriction of diet.
The ordinary army ration to which these men were accustomed was rich in proteid, especially in meat, and during the first few days they were allowed to follow their usual dietary habits, in order that data might be obtained bearing on their average food consumption. The details of one day’s food intake will suffice to show the average character and amount of the food eaten per man:
Breakfast.—Beefsteak 222 grams, gravy 68 grams, fried potatoes 234 grams, onions 34 grams, bread 144 grams, coffee 679 grams, sugar 18 grams.
Dinner.—Beef 171 grams, boiled potatoes 350 grams, onions 55 grams, bread 234 grams, coffee 916 grams, sugar 27 grams.
Supper.—Corned beef 195 grams, potatoes 170 grams, onions 21 grams, bread 158 grams, fruit jelly 107 grams, coffee 450 grams, sugar 21 grams.
It is not necessary to comment upon the large proportion of proteid matter in the day’s ration; the three large portions of meat testify clearly enough to that fact, while the three equally large volumes of coffee indicate a natural disposition toward generous consumption of anything available. Habit, reinforced by inclination, had evidently placed these men on a high plane of food consumption.
For a period of six months, a daily dietary was prescribed for the subjects; the food for each meal and for every man being of known composition, each article being carefully weighed, while the content of nitrogen in the day’s ration was so graded as to bring about a gradual reduction in the amount of proteid ingested. The rate of proteid katabolism was likewise determined each day by careful estimation of the excreted nitrogen, balance experiments being made from time to time in order to ascertain if the men were in a condition of nitrogen equilibrium. Finally, it should be mentioned that the subjects lived a fairly active life, having each day a certain amount of prescribed exercise in the university gymnasium, in addition to the regular drill and other duties associated with their usual work.
Photograph of the soldiers taken at the close of the experiment
