In the course of our metabolism observations on young children many interesting facts have been brought out with respect to the general food requirements as to total calories, distribution of the calories as fat, carbohydrate and protein, and other factors in the diet which must be considered. One notes in the literature on the food requirements of growing children a great difference of opinion among the various observers who have studied the subject. Many writers have taken up this problem from only a single point of view, such as the total caloric requirement, or the basal requirement, or the food needs in respect to one or another of the accessory food substances, the so-called "vitamins."
We have, therefore, thought it desirable to consider in its different aspects the whole subject of the food requirements of the child during the entire period of growth.
We shall discuss in this paper the