No exact rules can be laid down for the dietetics of the sedentary. An individual may lead a technically sedentary life, and yet use up a great amount of energy, only standing and walking muscles being in disuse just as in a person whose occupation requires standing and walking, little use may be made of arm, shoulder and trunk muscles. A better distinction is between out-door and in-door life, or quiet and active existence. True sedentary persons lead both a quiescent and an in-door existence, chiefly in the sitting posture. The less the exertion, the less the requirement for food. Excess of food over actual demands is usually manifested by the putting on of flesh or by the development of indigestion or metabolic disturbances. In theory there should be no such thing as a permissible diet for the sedentary, because no one should allow himself to lead a purely quiescent existence. It is possible to compress a good deal of active exercise in a couple of hours of the twenty-four, so that the sedentary person passes virtually into the next class above, corresponding to light active labor extending through a number of hours.

While individual estimates vary, it is probable that 1600-2000 calories suffice for the average individual on the usual basis of 145 pounds weight with the usual reduction for sex. As the sedentary person finds it difficult to digest heavy articles of food, the food should be easily digestible. Fruit and succulent vegetables (salads) are usually well borne by sedentary people, as they induce daily evacuations of the bowels, and are not fattening. They are the reverse of condensed and highly nutritious foods.