Gaseous Metabolism With Standing Position, Squad A

With Squad A no standing experiments were made with the portable respiration apparatus prior to the restriction in diet, the only experiment being that on the last day of the low-diet research (February 3). We are thus unable to determine the effect of the reduction in diet upon the metabolism in the standing position. We may, however, observe the effect of a change in position when the subject is at this low level of metabolism. To compare with the standing values obtained on February 3 we have basal data secured during experiments with one or the other of the respiration apparatus in Springfield one or two days prior to the date of the standing experiment, when the subjects were lying quietly and in the post-absorptive condition. The comparison between these values is made in table 137.

The average basal lying value for these men as shown in table 137 is 0.96 calorie per kilogram of body-weight per hour. The average standing value is 1.07 calories. With each individual in Squad A an increment is noted in the standing values for February 3 over those obtained with the subject lying quietly on the respiration apparatus in Springfield. These increments are recorded in the next to the last column of table 137, and in the last column are given the percentage increases for standing over lying. The percentage increases range from 2 per cent with Kon to a maximum of 19.8 per cent with Moy. The average for all subjects is 11.4 per cent; in other words, the standing position increased the metabolism 11.4 per cent above that obtained in the lying position.

Table 137. - Comparison Of Energy Metabolism In Lying And Standing Positions - Squad A; Subjects Post-Absorptive, At End Of Period Of Reduced Diet

1 Respiratory quotient of 0.80 assumed for the experiments with the portable respiration apparatus.

The minimum heat production of Squad A found with the group respiration chamber the night before (the night of February 2-3) was 0.89 calorie per kilogram per hour instead of the average of 0.96 calorie shown in table 137 for the metabolism in the lying position. If we use this 0.89 calorie as a basal value for comparison with the average value of 1.07 calories obtained in the standing position on February 3, we find an increase over the minimum value during the night of 0.18 calorie. On this basis the increment over lying is 20.2 per cent, which compares favorably with the increase due to standing of 22 per cent found with Squad B by a similar method of comparison. Both values are, however, measurably higher than the average increase for Squad A of 11.4 per cent found in table 137, in which the basal value used was that obtained in the lying experiments in Springfield made with respiration apparatus similar to that used for the standing experiments.