Weight on the first day:

A 120 B 1254

For five days both sets were fed on a regular diet. At the end of the fifth day:

A 129 B 134

From now on B was fed on beef fat exclusively. On the 25 day:

A 165 B 98

B were now given potatoes in addition to fat. On the 57 day:

A 201 B 108

B were next given bread in addition to fat and potatoes. On the 78 day:

A 223 B 137

This clearly shows what a poor diet fat alone is. Fat and potatoes combined kept the animals a little above maintenance; that is, there was no further loss of weight, and in fact a slight gain. The addition of bread caused an appreciable jump, so that during the last days of the experiment the percentage gain in weight of B was considerably greater than that of A; that is to say, they were "catching up."

3 At this point a warning is necessary. We are not warranted in drawing sweeping conclusions from experiments of this kind. At best such experiments are merely suggestive; and that is all they are meant to be.

4 Notice how the weights are selected to give the "benefit of the doubt" to the animals under experimentation. The B animals weigh more to start with. Remember also that these numbers' represent the average weight in grams.

The Effect of an Exclusive Sugar Diet, Six rats in each group.

A 88 B 92

Both sets on the regular diet for the first five days. At the end of the fifth day:

A 93 B 98

From now on B were fed on sugar (cane sugar) only. On the 26 day:

A 119 B 67

Fat was now added to the diet of B. On the 31 day:

A 121 B 69

In the meantime one of the B animals died. The remainder were now given potatoes in addition to fat and sugar. By the end of the experiment - the 62 day - four more of the B animals died. On the 62 day:

A 148 B 128

Sugar alone, if anything, is worse than fat alone. However, it is instructive to note that the one rat that survived the ordeal made remarkable strides towards recovery after fat and potatoes were added to the diet.