TX S4 UC-NRLF llllilllllllllllllllliiillllllllllilllililjj r &xs^-<^^^ 10 I 1 V*'?'*^''-^' ^ The Adequacy and Economy of Some City Dietaries The Adequacy and Economy of Some City Dietaries By H. C. SHERMAN Columbia University and L. H. GILLETT New Yorlc Association for Improving the Condition of tlie Poor This study and Us publication are made possible by the Department of Social Welfare established by Mrs. Elizabeth Milbank Anderson BUREAU OF FOOD SUPPLY The New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor NEW YORK 1917 Publication No. 121 f Copyright, 1917, by The New York Association kor Improving the Condition of the Poor CorneliuH N. Bliss, Jr., President George Blagden, Treasurer Franklin B. Kirkbride, Secretary Bailey B. Burritt, General Director The Association and authors wish to thank those who hare in any way assisted in this work. They wish especially to thajik Dr. A. W. Thomas, of Columbia University, arid Dr. Mary Rose, of Teachers Cnllege, for the readifuj of the manuscript. PRINTED BY EATON & GETTINGER 263 NINTH AVE. NEW YORK A Study of the Adequacy and Economy of Some City Dietaries Since nearly half of the income of the majority of families is spent in the purchasing of food supplies, and since food is such an important factor in the welfare of the family, it is important both economically and physiologically that expenditure for food be made in such a way as will give the best returns for the money spent. Any suggestions, however, as to how to improve upon present food habits should be based on a knowledge of the adequacy of present family dietaries and the relation existing between nutritive value and the different types of food. To this end, 102 family dietaries have been carefully collected and analyzed, each dietary being an exact record of the amount and cost of the food eaten by a family for a period of seven days during 1914-1915. The records were secured in three ways. Two-thirds of them were collected by the investigator who reached the families through settlements, mothers' clubs, health centers, and schools. She made daily visits, sometimes two visits daily, to the homes of the families, weighed the food, and supervised very closely the keeping of the records. Some studies were made by women who were interested and intelligent enough to keep an accurate record under the general direction of the investigator but without detailed supervision. The remaining studies were obtained through teachers of Home Economics who incorporated the keeping of the record into a lesson in household accounts or dietetics. Only such of these records were used as gave every evidence of accuracy as shown by the data of the record itself, the reputation of the girl, and the opinion of the teacher. Of the 102 studies, 87 were made in New York City, 9 in Clevelaivl OliJn. 5 in Long Beach, California, and i in Stamford, Connecticut. Among these 102 families there were 10 which, as supervised pensioners m the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, had been so influenced by a dietitian that they showed food habits which could hardly be taken as typical. The results of these 10 studies were not included in the general averages. In the 92 remaining families from which the general averages have been made there were 343 children and 287 adults, or 3.7 children and 3.1 adults per family. As to nationality they were divided as follows: 2^ Irish, 20 Americans, 17 Hebrews, 13 Germans, 10 Italians, 5 Scotch, and 4 of mixed races. The studies were quite equally distributed as to the season of the year,' 46 having been collected during October, November, and December in 1914 and January, February, and March in 1915, and 46 during the months of April, May, June, July, August,, and September in 1915. 3 389420 The averaoe cosl per rtiLtn per da)- was 32.9 cents, with a range from 11.2 cents to 76.0 cents. The distribution according to cost per man per day Chart I ^2 Family Dietaries. (I914-I915) Dislri bution as to Cost per Man per Day 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 IMS -46-50 51-55 5fr60 Sl-65 66-70 71-75 ?S-eo Cost per Man per Day_ Cen is (Chart I) shows the greatest frequency from 25 to 35 cents, with approximately one-fourth spending less than 25 cents and one-fourth more than 40 cents. These divisions as to nationality, season of the year, cost and make-up of the family seemed to us to be fairly representative of social groups and well suited to our purpose. Each dietary was analyzed to determine cost per man per day and the distribution of this food expenditure among the various types of food such as meat and fish, eggs, cheese, milk, cream, butter, and other fats, grain products, sugar, vegetables, fruits, nuts and a miscellaneous group including tea, coffee, spices, yeast, vinegar, etc. In each case the food value was calculated in terms of calories, protein, phosphorus, calcium (lime), and iron per man per day. Where necessary this work was supplemented by laboratory analyses to deter- mine the composition of the food. Calories and protein were quite generally assumed from standard tables,* but much ash analysis was necessary where there had not been sufficient work done to establish an average, t * Those contained in Rose's Laboratory Hand book for Dietetics were chiefly used for calories and protein, t For analyses done in connection with this study see Table VI, page 30 of the appendix. On the basis of these results the studies have been classified, averaged, and examined, to trace relationships between .the different types of food and the resulting food value, and to determine the adequacy of the ordinary diet in so far as the five factors mentioned above are concerned. In considering the adequacy of the various food factors, it is obviously necessary to have some basis for judgment as to what is adequate for proper nutrition. Since considerable work has been done to determine the energy require- ment, a standard allowance for this factor is quite commonly agreed upon as 3400-3,500 calories for a man working moderately hard, and that is the basis of the allowance used in this study. A review of the work done on protein metabolism indicated that in about 100 experiments which seemed of such a character as to throw light on this question, the average protein requirement was approximately 50 grams pef man per day. If this be increased by 50 per cent ''for safety," one obtains a standard allow^ance of 75 grams of protein per man per day. Since very little work had been done on the phosphorus and^ralcium requirement, however, it was thought advisable to investigate these factors by means of laboratory experiments, and thus get more reliable information than was available. Five metabolism experiments of a month each were performed on healthy individuals, and upon these results in connection with what had previously been done an adequate allowance for each was estimated according to the plan used in estimating the allowance for protein. No revision of the iron figures was made. The results of the dietaries were interpreted in the light of these allowances, which in view of all available evidence were judged as best expressing the requirements of human nutrition. Many of the studies gave evidence of deficiencies in food value in one or more important aspects. These deficiencies occurred frequently where the amount of money spent for food was adequate to supply sufficient nourishment had it been spent wisely. Or in some cases, the amount of food consumed was such as to give nearly 40 per cent more energy than was probably needed, while the amount of calcium (lime) or iron was barely more than enough to provide for the needs of the body. The selection of food was such that had these families been getting energy at the rate of 3,500 calories per man, in many instances some of the important ash constituents would have been below the standard allowance. The first classification of the dietaries was on the basis of cost. The 92 studies were arranged in the order of cost, and averaged in four groups of 2^ each * In Group I were the dietaries of the 23 families sptindmg the least amount for food and Group IV contained those spending the largest amount. Table I gives for each group the average cost and food value with a state- ment of the allowance used as a basis for judging the adequacy of the food value. ♦All figures will be given on the "per man per day" basis. Table 1. 92 Dietaries — Averaged in four groups according to cost. Average food value per man per day of each group Group Cost Calories Protein Phosphorus Calcium Iron Cents Grams Grams Grams Milligrams I 19.2 2043 78 1.14 0.51 12.1 n 28.2 2665 91 1.39 0.64 14.9 III 34.7 3106 109 1.60 0.72 17.7 IV 49.4 3889 126 1.95 1.01 20.6 Standard Al- _ lowance 2500-3500 75 1.44 0.69 • 15.0 Comparing these averages with the standard allowance given, it would seem as though energy and calcium were the factors most often deficient. This assumption is strengthened by the summary given in Table 2 of the number and percentage of dietaries above and below what is considered a safe allowance. By these figures we see that nearly 59 per cent of the families were getting below the ordinary accepted standard of 3,000 calories and that 76 per cent were below 3,500 calories per man per day, the amount upon which children's requirements have ordinarily been based. Table 2. Number and percentage of dietaries distributed as to calories, protein, phosphorus, calcium, and iron CALORIES PROTEIN PHOSPHORUS CALCIUM IRON ' Grams Grams Grams Milligrams d-? Below 2000 11 2000-2500 22 Below 50 Below 0.96 5 Below 0.45 13 Below 10 5 2500-3000 3000-3500 21 16 50-75 75-Above 12 80 0.96-1.44 1.44- Above 40 47 0.45-0.68 0.68-Above 36 43 10-15 15- Above 33 54 3500-Above 22 CALORIES PROTEIN PHOSPHORUS CALCIUM IRON Grams ^8 Grams ^1 Grams Milligrams S3 c Below 2500 3000 35.9 58.7 Below 50 75 0.0 13.0 Below 0.96 1.44 5.4 48.9 Below 0.45 0.68 14.1 53.2 Below 10 15 5.4 41.3 3500 76.1 100 51.0 There seems to be little danger of protein deficiency, indicating that the money spent for food has been spent in such a way as to supply relatiyely high protein at a sacrifice to the energy. As regards the probable comparative danger of insufficient energy and protein, only 12 families were getting less than 75 grams of protein as against 54 getting less than 3,000 calories, while none were getting less than 50 grams of protein, but 33 were getting less than 2,500 calories. Since an adequate supply of energy is essential both to healthy growth and activity, and to the proper protection of body tissue, the frequent deficiency of energy value in these city dietaries must be regarded as an im- portant factor in causing the large amount of malnutrition reported amo ig school children. Had the energy been 3,000 calories in each case, the cause for concern re- garding the other food factors would have been much less, as shown in Table 3. Table 3. 92 Dietaries distributed as to food value on the basis of 3,000 calories PROTEIN PHOSPHORUS CALCIUM IRON ^ t^ ^ «-> c a; c sed, and averaged in groups of 23 each. Group Amount of Meat per Man per Day Cost of Total Food per Man per Day Calories Cost of Total Food per 3000 Calories Amount of Meat Adjusted in Proportion to 3000 Calories Ounces Cents Cents Otinces I 5.0 24.6 2548 29.1 5.9 II 7.3 30.5 2857 31.7 7.7 III 9.5 32.8 2900 34.8 9.8 IV 13.5 44.7 3397 39.9 11.9 Table III. 92 Dietaries arranged according to the amount of grain products used, and averaged in 4 groups. Group Amount of Grain Products per Man per Day Cost of Total Food per Man per Day Calorics Cost of Total Food per 3000 Calories Amount of Grain Products .\d justed in Proportion to 3000 Calories Ounces Cents Cents Ounces I 7.9 31.6 2473 37.9 9.6 II 10.8 30.7 2556 35.1 12.7 III 13.9 33.8 3061 32.5 13.6 IV 19.2 36.5 3613 29.7 16.0 Table IV. 92 Dietaries arranged according to the amount of milk used, and compared with the calcium. Group Amount of Milk Used per Man per Day Amount of Calcium per Man per Day I II III IV Ounces 4.11 8.68 11.95 19.29 Grants 0.473 0.616 0.747 1.474 27 APPENDIX Table V.^ To show the range of prices, the average price paid by each of four groups (92 dietaries divided on the basis of cost) and the number of families using the most common articles of food. MEAT— FISH Beef, uncooked " cooked " corned '' dried Brains, tripe, kidney, liver Veal Liver Lamb — mutton Pork " cooked Bacon Salt pork Sausages Fish, fresh Canned, pickled Salt, dried and smoked Smoked Fowl DAIRY PRODUCTS Eggs Milk, fresh " condensed ... Cream CHEESE American . . Cottage . . . Cream. . . . Neufchatel Parmesan . Roquefort . Swiss FATS Butter Lard and other fats. Oil SUGAR Sugar Corn syrup . Range of Prices per Pound Cents 12-32 36-70 10-14 34-60 8-15 16-40 10-36 10-30 23-40 20-40 15-24 15-40 4-25 10-36 9-26 18-80 15-28 25-60* 6-1 If 10-16 10-30t 20-28 9-12 38-40 20 50-54 40-44 40 30-48 12-20 14-60 5- 8 6- 7 Group I Spending 19.2 Cents per Man per Day No. of Times Used 3 6 '7 9 6 3 2 18 8 10 19 20 6 4 21 7 4 Aver- age Price Paid Cents 19.4 39.0 10,14 13 19 18 22 27 16 16,22 8 19 16 18 28* 6t 11.5 10.5 J 23 9 20 50 40 40 16 14,44 Group II Spending 28.2 Cents per Man per Day No. of Times Used 17 5 7 5 10 13 4 6 4 9 23 22 4 3 10 5 4 2 1 21 13 6 Aver- age Price Paid Cents 20 40,60 60 11 21 19^5 18.0 25.0 26 18 24 12 23 14 27 19 32* 8t 13 15t 22 10 40 52 40 38 15 21,42 Group III Spending 34.7 Cents per Man per Day No. of Times Used 23 4 3 7 9 17 8 7 3 12 5 4 1 6 21 23 7 1 20 12 5 Aver- age Price Paid Cents 21 40 35 10 24 2L8 21 38 29 17 23 11 23 23 24 20 34* 8t 14 20t 29 10 39 20 50 40 39 15 22,38 Group IV Spending 49.4 Cents per Man per Day No. of Times Used 2 5 1 14 17 8 11 2 8 16 8 4 6 12 23 23 4 10 23 13 9 23 2 Aver- age Price Paid Cents 24 40,70 34 12 29 30 21 20 40 28 18,24 25 19 24 12 53 21 43* 9t 11 20t 25 10 40 20 52 40,44 40 39 18 32,50 6 6,7 * Price per dozen, t Price psr quart, t Price per pint. 28 TABLE v.— Continued APPENDIX Range of Prices per Pound Group I Spending 19.2 Cents per Man per Day No. of Times Used Aver- age Price Paid Group II Spending 28.2 Cents per Man per Day No. of Times Used Aver- age Price Paid Group III Spending 34.7 Cents per Man per Day No. of Times Used Aver- age Price Paid Group IV Sf)ending 49.4 Cents per Man per Day No. of Times Used Aver- age Price Paid GRAIN PRODUCTS Barley Bread, white Rolls Cake and cookies . Crackers Cornflakes Cornmeal Farina Flour Macaroni Oatmeal Rice VEGETABLES Beans, dry " fresh " string Beets Cabbage Carrots Celery Corn, canned Lentils Lettuce Onions Peas, canned " dried " fresh Potatoes, sweet. . . " white. . . Spinach Tomatoes, canned. fresh... Turnips FRUIT Apples Bananas Currants, dry. Dates Figs Grapes Grapefruit Jam Jelly Cents 6-10 4-10 7-16 8-50 9-40 15-25 3-10 5-12 4- 6 6-20 5-12 6-10 5-10 6-15 5-10 2- 4 1- 5 2-10 5-22 6-12 7- 9 5-40 1- 8 5-17 6-12 3-12 2- 5 1- 4 2-10 4-15 2-20 2- 5 1-12 3- 8 10-13 10-20 15-20 4-28 4-10 18-30 10-20 Cents 8 5 9 17 22 4.4 8 6 9 6,9 '2 2 3 15 2.1 2 1.6 7,10 5 4 2 2.6 4 24 10 8 2 '4 4 5 2 3 1 7 19 3 3 6 23 3 7 6 3 Cents 8 6 11 15 12 25 3 10 4.4 10 5 9 2.7 2.7 2.6 5 10 7 15 3 8 6 8.6 4 3 1 2.5 4 1.5 22 4 5 8 13 5 5 2 2 2.7 17 5.5 6 10.13 10 1 20 8 2 3 24 3 12 2 22 11 12 13 3 2 2 16 9 13 11 Cents 8 6 9 14 10 15 3 9 4.6 10 7 9 8 7,8 6 2.6 3 4 11 9 9 15 2.5 8.5 8.0 7 3 2 8 6 8 2.5,5 2.9 4 10 7 18 12 2 22 15 21 10 5 6 6 21 11 14 16 16 4 3 6 11 10 9 8 1 13 13 6 3 2 9 23 2 5 4 Cents 9 7 9 16 16 19 6 9 4 10 7 8 8 12 7 2.5 3 3 11 10 7 18 5 12 8 6,12 3 2 5,7 7 9 2.5 6 6 10 20 15,20 14 6 25 15 29 TABLE v.— Continued APPENDIX Range of Prices per Pound Group I Spending 19.2 Cents per Man per Day Group II Spending 28.2 Cents per Man per Day Group III Spending 34.7 Cents per INIan per Day Group IV Spending 49.4 Cents per Man per Day No. of Times Used Aver- age Price Paid No. of Times Used Aver- age Price Paid No. of Times Used Aver- age Price Paid No. •of Times Used Aver- age Price Paid YKVIT— Continued Oranges Cents 3-25 8-16 6-16 4-25 5- 8 10-16 16 20 18-24 20-80 20-45 20-80 2 1 3 5 1 2 4 15 15 Cents 3,6 8 8 5 8 12,16 27 26 36 13 2 2 3 1 6 4 14 19 15 Cents 8 8 6,8 6 5 12 24 32 27 44 12 3 4 4 1 3 '7 18 15 Cents 8 12 7 5 6 12 16 42 29 45 17 5 4 2 8 "3 7 14 21 20 Cents 7 Peaches, canned fresh Pears 9.5 7 5,25 Plums . . Raisins . . 14 NUTS Filberts Peanuts 20 Walnuts 22 Cocoa and chocolate Coffee 35 30 Tea 52 Table VI.— Percentage composition of foods analyzed in connection with the dietary study and metabolism experiments. (Figures given are on edible portion.) Carbo- Pro- hy- Mois- tein Fat drate Total CaO Ca PoO, P Fe ture (Nx 6.25) (By Differ- ence) Ash MEAT Per Per Per Per Per Per Per Per Per Per Beef, lean, round cent cent cent cent cent cent cent cent cent cent (free from visi- ble fat) 20.55 0.015 0.011 0.443 0.193 Beef liver 67.87 20.84 4.74 1.13 0.008 0.006 0.927 0.405 Fowl 75.04 68.40 21.46 18.85 3.00 4.57 0.96 7.35 0.029 0.043 0.021 0.031 0.473 0.385 0.207 0.168 Ham, smoked .... Mutton chops 74.90 19.31 4.38 1.17 0.023 0.016 0.547 0.239 FISH Blue 77.34 20.45 0.76 0.34 1.11 0.032 0.023 0.483 0.211 Cod, fresh 80.67 18.22 0.15 1.12 0.014 0.010 0.465 0.203 Halibut . . .0007 Herring, fresh .0016 Mackerel 66.91 20.34 12.45 1.35 0.015 0.011 0.692 0.302 30 APPENDIX TABLE VI.— Continued Mois- ture FISH {Continued) Perch Porgies Salmon, canned fresh.. Tuna, canned. . White, smoked. Lobster, canned. . Oysters CHEESE American Cottage Parmesan Swiss DAIRY PRODUCTS Milk Cream (31% fat) Butter Per cent 79.10 59.12 69.94 60.67 68.20 GRAIN PRODUCTS Bread, Boston brown Bread, Graham. . . " entire wheat Bread, rye " white Bran Buckwheat Cornflakes Cornstarch Cream of Wheat. Farina Flour, graham. . " rye " white .... " entire wheat Force. Macaroni Pretzels Shredded Wheat. Tapioca — sago . . Wafers — cheese. . Fig Newtons .... Social Teas Pro- tein (Nx 6.25) 72.68 24.85 29.93 30:85 32.44 12.20 10.90 9.64 12.47 5.95 11.18 10.29 11.60 7.05 11.50 5.66 Fat Carbo- hy- drate (By Differ ence) Per cent 18.25 23.20 20.90 26.60 20.86 28.32 21.34 34.86 30.85 3.11 0.59 5.97 8.72 9.22 0.47 11.84 11.34 11.03 9.61 12.67 10.97 11.12 0.20 14.90 4.16 6.50 Per cent 1.74 16.23 7.86 11.35 7.30 Per cent 0.21 0.48 28.86 31.95 6.29 0.28 0.41 1.12 1.23 1.72 1.13 0.64 0.37 0.23 12.20 4.69 9.94 Total Ash 4.22 5.48 2.87 Per cent 1.26 1.93 1.09 2.16 3.70 53.98 56.50 86.72 75.78 81.32 74.82 73.51 87.71 63.25 78.47 76.87 CaO 1.28 5.95 4.40 Ca 2.92 2.06 0.20 0.36 2.00 0.69 4.86 0.26 2.60 1.18 1.03 Per cent 0.076 0.019 0.023 0.009 0.031 0.096 1.184 0.140 1.540 1.520 0.166 0.144 0.019 0.180 0.045 0.033 0.029 0.025 0.030 0.057 0.035 0.030 0.058 0.024 0.474* 0.1121 Per cent 0.054 0.014 0.016 0.006 P.O, Per cent 0.536 0.531 0.589 0.831 0.022 0.62 0.069 0.846 0.100 1.101 1.086 0.119 0.082 0.014 0.129 0.032 0.024 0.021 0.018 0.021 0.041 0.025 0.022 0.041 0.017 0.339- ().()80t 1.392 0.747 2.001 1.860 0.213 0.040 0.465 0.338 0.201 0.053 0.112 0.133 0.355 0.286 0.833 0.590 0.707 0.856 0.344 0.469 0.740 0.207 0.720 0.254 0.362 Per cent 0.234 0.232 0.257 0.363 0.274 0.608 0.326 0.874 0.812 0.093 0.018 0.203 0.148 0.088 0.231 0.049 0.058 0.155 0.125 0.364 0.258 0.309 0.374 0.150 0.205 0.323 0.090 0.314 0.111 0.158 Per cent .0014 .0081 0013 .0012 .0003 .0114 .0011 .0008 .0008 .0036 .0011 .0007 .0035 .0011 .0042 .0016 *^d^ulated from the protein in cheese and crackers. t Calculated from the protein in figs and crackers. 31 TABLE .VI.— Continued APPENDIX Mois- ture Pro- tein (Nx 6.25) Fat Carbo hy- drate (By Differ ence) Total Ash CaO Ca P«0, SUGAR Sugar, brown (mo lasses) Corn syrup Maple syrup. . . . MOLASSES Barbadoes New Orleans .... Porto Rican .... Per cent 4.90 VEGETABLES Artichokes,French Beans, dry, lima " fresh, string Brussels sprouts. Carrots Cauliflower Cucumbers Egg plant Kohlrabi Parsnips Peas, dry Peppers, green . . Potatoes, sweet.. Rhubarb Tomatoes FRUIT Apples Bananas Grapefruit Grape juice, I. . . " II.. Grapes, Tokay*. " Concord* Orange juice .... JELLY (Commercial) Currant Strawberry NUTS Almondsf Peanuts Peanut butter . . Pecans MISCEL- LANEOUS Coffee infusion. Gelatine 82.80 93.04 94.20 79.90 6.11 Per cent 0.20 3.41 1.03 24.56 0.73 0.19 0.43 0.28 0.62 29.81 11.28 0.12 Per cent 0.51 0.11 0.10 0.07 70.62 Per cent 93.50 11.97 5.34 4.59 10.37 Per cent 1.40 1.28 0.38 1.62 Per cent 0.107 0.072 0.156 Per cent 0.076 0.051 0.112 0.043 0.245 0.520 0.372 0.730 0.522 0.057 0.085 0.044 0.49 0.016 0.076 0.008 0.009 0.013 0.018 0.016 0.020 0.018 0.300 0.060 0.121 0.002 0.350 0.041 0.061 0.031 0.011 0.054 0.006 0.006 0.009 0.013 0.011 0.014 0.013 0.214 0.043 0.086 0.001 0.250 Per cent 0.085 0.025 0.002 0.114 0.128 0.127 0.228 0.078 0.874 0.060 0.025 0.028 0.020 0.045 0.019 0.018 1.071 0.825 0.820 0.767 0.007 Per cent •0.037 0.011 0.001 0.050 0.056 0.055 0.100 0.260 0.114 0.034 0.382 0.026 0.011 0.012 0.009 0.020 0.008 0.008 0.468 0.360 0.358 0.335 0.003 * Tokay grapes analyzed with skins; Concord without skii t Almonds were not blanched. 32 Additional copies of this publication may be obtained from the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, 105 East 22nd Street, New lork City, at 25 cents per copy. 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