Clinical and subclinical malnutrition, their influence on the capacity to do work; progress report, 1971/1975

IN THE FIRST, LABORATORY STUDIES OF BODY COMPOSITION, NUTRITIONAL STATUS, AND PHYSICAL CONDITION (WORK CAPACITY) WERE CONDUCTED WITH 49 UNDERNOURISHED AND NORMAL ADULT MALES. NINETEEN OF THE MOST SEVERELY MALNOURISHED OF THIS GROUP WERE ALSO STUDIED DURING A 2.5 MONTH DIETARY REPLETION PERIOD IN WHICH THE DAILY PROTEIN INTAKE WAS INCREASED FROM 28 GMS/DAY TO 100 GMS/DAY. THE SECOND SET OF STUDIES WAS PERFORMED ON 61 WELL-NOURISHED MALE SUGAR CANE CUTTERS AND 28 SUGAR CANE LOADERS IN WHOM NUTRITIONAL STATUS, BODY COMPOSITION, PHYSICAL WORK CAPACITY, ENERGY EXPENDITURE DURING WORK, AND WORK PRODUCTIVITY WERE DETERMINED UNDER LABORATORY AND FIELD CONDITIONS. THESE WORKERS WERE COMPARED WITH 18 OTHER AGRICULTURAL WORKERS IN COLOMBIA WHO WERE NOT ENGAGED IN HARVESTING SUGAR CANE, WITH A GROUP OF 20 CIVIL SERVICE LABORERS IN MILWAUKEE, AND WITH 15 MEXICAN-AMERICAN MIGRANT WORKERS IN WISCONSIN. SOME MEASUREMENTS OF MAXIMUM OXYGEN CONSUMPTION WERE ALSO PERFORMED ON 42 SIX-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN OF DIFFERING NUTRITIONAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS TO OBTAIN SOME PRELIMINARY DATA ON THE EFFECTS OF EARLY MALNUTRITION ON SOME OF THE WORK PARAMETERS STUDIES IN THE ADULTS. RESULTS SHOWED THAT PHYSICAL WORK CAPACITY IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO NUTRITIONAL STATUS, AND THAT PRODUCTIVITY IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO MAXIMUM OXYGEN CONSUMPTION CAPACITY AS WELL AS TO OTHER NUTRITIONALLY RELATED PARAMETERS.