Nutritional Adaptation to Low Dietary Intakes of Calories, Proteins, Vitamins, and Minerals in the Tropics

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Abstract
The assessment of the diet of 240 subjects selected from two socio-economic groups (medical students and street beggars) indicates a continued low intake of total calories, animal proteins, vitamins (A, B, C, and D) and mineral (iron, calcium, phosphorus) especially in the beggars, for several years. Clinical examination did not indicate the presence of nutritional deficiency states in 93.75 per cent of the beggars. The nutritional status of the beggar group was, however, inferior to that of the medical students in respect to body weight. Radiologic examination indicated a normal calcified skeleton in clinically healthy subjects. These low intakes apparently did not seem to influence very much the course of development and growth in children, or of pregnancy and lactation in women of the beggar group. It has been concluded that in consequence of a prolonged low intake the body seems to develop some sort of "nutritional adaptation" so that development, growth, and maintenance even in the face of the extra demands of pregnancy, lactation, or illness, are possible with quite low intakes. The "nutritional adaptation" may function by exercising a very rigid internal economy in the interest of more important functions.