The Influence of Diet on the Nitrogen Balances of Pre-School Children

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Abstract
Five children received constant diets containing 3 gm. of protein per kilogram. They all excreted the same proportion of the nitrogen intake, but the urine figures fluctuated according to intake variations while the feces values remained constant for each child and were proportional to the dry weight of the feces. The ratio of fecal nitrogen to dry matter consumed remained fairly constant for each child but varied between children according to the character of the stools. For individual children the coefficient of digestibility varied between 86.0 and 92.7%, while the retention values remained more constant but both values fluctuated in proportion to the period by period variation in the diet. Immediately following the change to a 4-gm. protein diet, the excretion values were irregular, but after 9 days they had apparently reached an equilibrium. A comparison of the data following the preliminary period with that on the medium protein diet indicated the effects of protein on the metabolism. The percentage of the intake excreted did not vary, but the total grams increased, practically all of the increase occurring in the urine. The small fecal nitrogen increase was proportional to the increase in dry weight of the feces. The ratio of fecal nitrogen to dry food eaten increased slightly for each child but there was no correlation between the two factors. The coefficient of digestibility was higher for each child. The percentage of the intake nitrogen retained was practically the same, but the total grams increased. The average of the retention and intake values per kilogram for all children for each separate period showed that the children retained nitrogen in relation to the period by period variations except immediately following the change in diet.

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